Conclusions of the Commissioners

Hearing Commissioners’ Findings

Development and Racism- Realities and Impacts of Violence against Black/ Afro- descendant Women within our Diverse Identities

On April 19, 2021, Afro-descendant women leaders from throughout Colombia gathered in Tumaco, Nariño to present testimony before international human rights experts and the public about the scope, causes, and impacts of violence committed against them during Colombia’s conflict.

The hearing, titled “Development and Racism: Realities and Impacts of Violence Against Black / Afro- descendant Women in our Diverse Identities,” was a civil society transitional justice initiative intended to ensure an accounting of all forms of gender violence against Afro- descendant women and their communities.

In addition to oral testimony, performance, and documentaries, Afro- descendant women and their allies submitted reports and academic articles describing rights violations against Afro- descendant women in relation to state-led development, militarism and racism.

We, Hearing Commissioners, were selected on the basis of our gender and racial justice human rights expertise to provide observations and recommendations intended to facilitate accountability and reparations for violations of the rights of Afro-descendant women and their communities.

In the spirit of support for an inclusive transitional justice process in Colombia, we offer the following findings.

Community Hearings

Community hearings on gender-based violence in Afro- descendant communities are spaces for visibilizing and denouncing violence against Black / Afro-descendant women within our diverse identities, in order to generate strategies that allow us to advocate before local and national authorities, and domestic and international justice mechanisms, for greater access to prevention, protection, care and provision of comprehensive reparations for this violence.