If the Colombian government does not change its policy on the demobilisation of paramilitaries, it risks prolonging the 40-year armed conflict and damaging democracy. Paramilitary demobilisation is now drawing to a close, but President Alvaro Uribe may be prioritising a quick fix removal of the extreme right-wing group from the conflict at the cost of justice for their victims and at the risk of leaving their criminal power structures largely untouched. While the July 2005 Justice and Peace Law has serious shortcomings that make it difficult to end impunity and establish the truth for grave crimes committed by demobilised individuals and to achieve fully satisfactory reparations for victims, it can be an important vehicle for protecting Colombia’s democracy against dangerous paramilitary and criminal interference. It needs, however, to be revised and implemented effectively.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4020&m=1
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4020&m=1