Foro Desafios para la Construccion de la Paz

Membership | Objectives | Board of Directors | Who's Who? | FAQ
The Headquarters | Speeches | Mission Statement | Vacancies

Introductory remarks by Bengt Save-Soderbergh, Secretary-General of International IDEA for the Launching of the Spanish version of the Handbook on Democracy and Deep Rooted Conflict

Foro Desafios para la Construccion de la Paz
27-28 Agosto 2001 Bogota, Colombia

Estimados amigos, Dear friends,

It is with great pleasure that I have accepted, on behalf of International IDEA, the invitation extended by the Colombian Government, to co- host this event and to inaugurate the Seminar on the Challenges for Building Peace.
This important Forum has also presented us with a very good occasion to launch the new Spanish version of our Handbook on "Democracy and Deep Rooted Conflict" in a country, whose peace process is of critical importance, not only to the people of Colombia, to the stability of the Andean region but also to the world as a whole.

International IDEA is not new to Colombia. Our involvement in Colombia dates back to 1999, when we started assisting in the construction of different structures of governance that addressed issues of Political and Electoral Reform. At this time we humbly bring an example of our work in the area of negotiation and conflict management. IDEA has done extensive work in countries like Guatemala, Indonesia and Nigeria. In Latin America we have also worked in El Salvador, Peru, and Paraguay amongst others.

We all know that building peace is never simple. Or quick. This will seem an obvious statement to a Colombian audience, but sometimes it is useful to recall the simple realities. Especially internationally, there is often a temptation to expect, even to push for, the 'quick fix'. Conflict is messy and complicated and solving it requires extraordinary diplomacy, creativity and patience. Most of today's violent conflicts include issues of perceived identity combined with a struggle for resources - financial, political, land and others.

Furthermore, most of today's violent conflicts occur within the boundaries of existing states. Of the 101 armed conflicts between 1989-1996, only six were traditional inter-state conflicts. The remaining 95 were internal. In 1999 there were 27 armed conflicts, only 2 of which were not domestic. This is a dramatic change from the past. Just as here in Colombia, the sources of such conflicts are complex and deeply embedded. The differences between the parties are enduring and ineradicable. But the imperative to keep working toward a negotiated solution stems from the simple fact that the alternatives result in an unacceptably high cost in economic, institutional and, especially, human terms. National security is even more closely linked to human security and thereby to issues of democracy.

International IDEA, then, comes to this context as an outsider, an inter-governmental organisation and, as such, a member of the international community. We do not come with ready-made answers or prescriptions for other people's problems. And yet we still believe we may have something to offer: our approach is to present choices and options based on practical experiences from a vast number of other countries -countries that have suffered similar deep-rooted conflicts.

Achieving peace in Colombia is the responsibility of the people of Colombia. The problems facing Colombia are in many ways unique but there is certainly an opportunity for learning from others how they have achieved peace and democracy despite the horrors of war that have torn their countries apart. Today we offer tools and lessons learnt and thereby possibilities for learning from experience elsewhere. We trust the expertise of the recipients to devise the steps that will lead to progress in their own context. Even asking the question 'Why won't that work here?' leads to useful reflection on what might work.

So I come to you not as an expert on the Colombian conflict. In this room the real expertise sits all around me. I come here with the experience of IDEA's previous involvement and because of our commitment to a healthy peace process in Colombia; both for its own sake as well as the benefits that such peace would bring globally.

President Pastrana has showed great courage in trying to tackle the peace process. He has done it with the conviction that sustainable peace can only be reached through a political process of negotiations. When he started his round of negotiations, hopes of a rapid success were high. One lesson learnt from this is that it takes more time and requires more patience than one might have expected at the beginning. Colombians know very well the obstacles to achieving peace. Thus, without diminishing the cost of a lengthy process, this current period and moment offer a vital opportunity for review and evaluation, and possibly for a different kind of progress. It may also serve as an occasion for reflection on some of the approaches and designs so far tested and for examination of where and how things can be improved.

In the Handbook launched today, IDEA draws a critical distinction between process and outcome when designing a peace process. When parties to a conflict sit down to negotiate a settlement, they need to pay close attention to the nature and ingredients of an eventual settlement - they must consider issues as varied as parliamentary structures, electoral processes, judicial and legislative structures. And they must focus on the ones that will best serve the interests of all and those that most contribute to the sustainability of the settlement. That is the outcome.

But even the best-designed outcome will never reach agreement if the process of negotiation is flawed. And it is the process that I would therefore like to emphasise. Outcome refers to what we negotiate about. Process refers to how we negotiate. We hope and believe that the Handbook makes an important contribution in approaching the complexities of designing an adequate process, before focusing on the ingredients of the outcome. Of course, the design of every peace process is a matter of political compromise to produce a workable result. It is never perfect. It can always be improved.

For instance, experience all over the world shows the vital importance of the 'pre-negotiation' stage. This is the process of designing and agreeing all the rules and arrangements before starting to negotiate the outcome: Who should participate? What is the agenda? Is it necessary to agree arrangements for a cease-fire during the talks? Is there room for 'unofficial' talking, behind the official sessions? How do you maintain confidentiality without risking the suspicions of the public? Is one party at a huge disadvantage in covering the costs of attending? Who pays for the negotiations? Should the negotiations have a deadline, or should they continue until agreement is reached?

Then there are other questions: preparing ways to deal with the inevitable deadlocks that will arise; assessing whether any external third party might be useful, and in which way. And, if the negotiation process is a long-term one, does it need reviewed or altered, as circumstances change?

Choices on all these pre-negotiation issues, and many more, will affect the chances of a successful outcome. In our Handbook, we do not prescribe one correct method for each of these issues. But rather, based on the experience of many peace-processes, we offer a wide series of options to choose from depending on the specific and unique context, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Colombia has been focused on building peace through this process for the past three years and has made important progress during this time. One can never underestimate the significance of continuously reviewing and assessing the process of those negotiations. International IDEA aims to be of assistance in this regard and hopes the Handbook and this Event may service such undertaking.

We are aware of the pressures both internally and internationally for quick fixes. It is equally popular to promote outsiders - third parties - as some kind of magic, expert deliverers of solutions. Again, insiders know the uses and, more to the point, the limits of outside intervention.

We are also aware of the challenges the future electoral process will impose on an already complicated context. However, we are confident that Colombians will continue to seize this opportunity for action and will preserve the already substantial step they have made of engaging in a process that is crucial in the quest for peace. We know Colombians will do what is best for their country.

International IDEA hopes that Colombians, with the assistance of the international community, finds its own way to a lasting peace. Our task is only to offer supportive options and alternatives, to demonstrate lessons from other real situations, and through such tools and knowledge to increase the capacity for the real experts to make progress in this most difficult challenge. It is with this spirit that we now offer our new Handbook. We hope that it may allow for further dialogue and interaction, and that it may serve as a means of generating the creative and pragmatic steps that will lead to the achievement of a peace that we can all wholeheartedly embrace.

Finally, I would like to conclude by sincerely thanking the Colombian Government for its invitation to be here today. I would also like to thank the people of Colombia for always welcoming International IDEA to this country. Our thanks also extend to our partners in the organisation of this event: Universidad Javeriana, Universidad Sergio Arboleda, and Universidad para la PAZ. Equally, we would like to thank Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the Ministry of Interior, the Swedish Agency for International Development, El Tiempo and Semana for their sponsorship.

Thank you.

The Institute : Speeches
Home | Intro