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An article by Suzy Scarton in the Jornal de Comércio (translated by CPNN)

Although innovative, the practice is simple. Restorative justice aims to deal with violations by put ting the victim and aggressor face to face, so that the latter can reflect on the damage caused to the first. The initiative, already deployed in the capital and in some cities, such as Caxias do Sul and Santa Maria, became statewide on the afternoon of Thursday [October 13]. At the Piratini Palace, the heads of the Executive, the Judiciary, the Legislature, the Public Ministry and the State Public Defender signed a protocol that allows the Rio Grande do Sul to seek social peace by this means.

The protocol development is an initiative of the State Court
JONATHAN HECKLER / JC

The protocol sets out four lines of action: promoting actions of social mobilization and dissemination of culture, promoting the restorative approach and the culture of peace, training human resources to apply the concepts of restorative mode, as well as the implementation of programs related to it. The first task of the Executive Committee responsible for the implementation of the methodology will relate to activities that are already being developed.

Precursor of this method in the state, the judge Leoberto Brancher, of the Children and Youth Regional Juvenile Court in Caxias do Sul, explains that the restoration plans to solve crimes and conflicts based on dialogue and accountability. “It places an emphasis not on the discussion of laws, but of people and relationships in order to repair the consequences of these problems,” he explains. Since the Court, the Legislative Assembly, the Ministry of Justice and the Public Defender’s Office are involved in the project, Brancher believes that all services will be united in the resolution of conflicts which would otherwise go to the judiciary.

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(Click here for the original article in Portuguese)

Restorative justice, What does it look like in practice?

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In practice, restorative justice can work with or without the involvement of the victim. “The victim has been damaged. Instead of using punishment, we propose a constructive action: the offender needs to implement a compensation plan for the damage that was caused,” says the magistrate. The victim may prefer not to participate, in which case the alternative is to involve family members and people involved in the community to which the offender belongs. “There are cases where we end up with a family strengthening circle, to strengthen ties.” The judge hearing the case can even suspend it until a compensation plan is drawn up. If it is considered adequate, the judge can decide that the compensation plan is implemented instead of the sentence.

Brancher adds, however, that the success of the method depends on the training of a facilitator, since the work must be done face to face. “The measure has preventative efficacy. We have a thousand facilitators trained in Caxias do Sul to work on prevention. Then we form a group to resolve conflict situations,” said the magistrate. In addition to avoiding conflicts, the measure also seeks to inhibit recidivism, as it aims to strengthen the adhesion of the subject to compliance with a socially acceptable conduct. “The intention is to follow offenders without their being sentenced. They are pressured to recognize its value, as people close to them are witnessing and charging them,” he explains.

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from La Prensa Grafica (translated by CPNN and reprinted as a non-commercial service)

Various educational institutions in the municipality of Sonsonate held a march for peace and for the rejection of violence, intended to raise awareness among people to improve the situation of social harmony. Dozens of students from the Thomas Jefferson National Institute and the Polytechnic Institute of Sonsonate gathered outside city hall, carrying banners calling for the cessation of violence. The students were accompanied by cheerleaders, who to the tune of the music offered a show to the public along the route of the peace march.

The youth group marched down North 1st Avenue, crossed the street and then took Salarrué Morazan avenue, until they reached the December 14 column.

According to organizers, the march was organized to mark the International Day of Non-Violence.

Sonsonate was in previous years one of the 16 most violent municipalities of the department; however, they have implemented some plans that have significantly reduced the rate of violence. According to statistics from the National Civil Police (PNC), the municipality of Sonsonate ceased to occupy the first place in homicides and has dropped to fifth place, with 26 murders so far this year, compared to 35 last year.

PNC statistics situate Izalco as the more violent than the department of Sonsonate, with 114 homicides so far this year; followed by Nahuizalco, 41; San Julian, 32; Armenia, with 30, and Sonsonate, 26.

Local authorities say the reduction of violence in the departmental capital is due to a number of programs in Sonsonate made by various institutions, with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The intention of those involved in these programs is to improve relationships between children and young people of school age and therefore several of its projects are focused on schools.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article)

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article Caracol TV (translation by CPNN)

Tens of thousands of people marched Wednesday [October 5] in at least 16 cities in Colombia demanding the government and the opposition to reach a peace agreement with the FARC, after the rejection of the agreement with the guerrillas in a plebiscite. In 12 cities, including Bogota, Barranquilla and Cali, citizens demanded that President Juan Manuel Santos, promoter of the peace pact with the FARC, and the former president Alvaro Uribe, a fierce opponent of the agreement, should work together to overcome the armed conflict that has hurt Colombia for over half a century.

video of march available on website of Caracol TV

“My heart is aching. Peace is not Uribe or Santos, peace is us. That makes me angry,” said Alejandro Quevedo, a math teacher of 31 years who attended the university rally in Bogota .

With white shirts and white flowers, at least 30,000 people participated in a silent march for peace in Bogota that ended in the central Plaza de Bolivar. They protested the results of the plebiscite on Sunday, where 50.21% of voters said “No” to the agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after nearly four years of negotiations in Cuba.

Santos called for a national dialogue to seek alternatives. He met Wednesday with Uribe in the presidential palace, where he said he is determined to “seek ways of unity and reconciliation” to achieve peace.

“No more victims”

“For all that unites us and what separates us,” read the poster that led the march, carried out in absolute silence with the flames of white candles, the colored flags of Colombia and the gay community. Only a few marchers raised their fists.

“I march with uncertainty in the face of the silence and lack of will to solve things of those who voted ‘No’, I feel that is all I can do now to try to find solutions,” said Lina Vanegas, a university teacher of 29 years present at the demonstration.

Silently holding candles, some government officials also participated, for example, Interior Minister, Juan Fernando Cristo, and senior advisor for post-conflict Rafael Pardo.

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(Click here for the original version of this article in Spanish.

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

How effective are mass protest marches?

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But the silence of the march was broken when the audience sang the national anthem. That gave way to shouting slogans like “We want peace”, “No more war”, “No more victims” and “Not one step back” as marchers formed the symbol of peace with their candles.

Protesters then read the “Prayer for Peace”, a speech of the assassinated liberal leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, who in February 1948 led protests by 100,000 people in the capital against political persecution by the conservative government of Mariano Ospina Perez.

“Stop the violence, Mr. President. We simply ask for the defense of human life, which is the least a people can ask”, cried Gaitan, a few months before he was killed.

It is “necessary” to stop the hate

In Barranquilla and Cali, dozens of citizens dressed in white also demanded an end to the internal conflagration and an extension of the bilateral cease fire respected by FARC since August and extended by Santos until 31 October.

“People who have actually lived through the war itself are those who want change, they want a transformation (…) and that was not shown in the plebiscite,” said Stefany Vergara a literature student 28 years of the Universidad del Valle in Cali, where about 4,000 people marched.

The FARC, meanwhile, supported with tweets on what they called “#PazALaCalle”. “They will maintain peace and willingness to use only words as weapons for future construction. Peace will triumph,” they said.

The call for demonstrations went beyond the borders of Colombia. In New York, some 50 Colombians gathered in Times Square, the heart of Manhattan, to sing “Colombia wants peace!” and advocate for the end of the continent’s oldest armed conflict.

“Civil society has begun to mobilize to tell the government that we do not want a renegotiation but the accords that are already done,” said the painter Ricardo Prado, 25, in the Times Square gathering

Mobilizations of Colombians calling for an end to the war also took place in cities of Holland, England, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and France.

The armed conflict in Colombia for more than 50 years involving guerrillas, paramilitaries and government forces, killing some 260,000 dead, 45,000 missing and 6.9 million displaced.