Colombia's Opportunity for Sustainable Peace

56 years of conflict between the Colombian government and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) came to an end in June with a bilateral cease-fire.

David Schoeller-Diaz of OEF's PASO Colombia program describes the historic and challenging peace process thus far in this article published in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.

As Schoeller-Diaz points out, peace with FARC does not mean an end to organized violence in Colombia. And there are further hurdles that remain before implementing the final peace agreement. Nevertheless, "in a country where most have only known war, the peace accord offers Colombians a new opportunity...that gives future generations the chance to heal the wounds of over five-decades of violent history and build a socially inclusive peace."