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Citizenship Deferred: The Politics of Victimhood, Land Restitution and Gender Justice in the Colombian (Post?) Conflict

Authored by: Donny Meertens and Margarita Zambrano

Categories: Statebuilding
Sub-Categories: Political Transitions, Transitional Justice
Country: Colombia
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
Year: 2010
Citation: Meertens, Donny and Margarita Zambrano. "Citizenship Deferred: The Politics of Victimhood, Land Restitution and Gender Justice in the Colombian (Post?) Conflict." The International Journal of Transitional Justice 4, no. 2 (2010): 189-206.

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Executive Summary

This article discusses the advancement and constraints of gender justice for women victims of armed conflict and forced displacement in Colombia, with special reference to land restitution. Women constitute the overwhelming majority of rights claimants under the 2005 Justice and Peace Law and their rights have been supported by rulings of the Constitutional Court. Government response, however, has been insufficient. Women's claims are part of a broader political debate on the limits of victimhood and the costs of reparation, in which the need for restitution of land is reluctantly acknowledged. Displaced women have been more vulnerable to violent land seizures and they face greater security risks than men when attempting to reclaim their land. In this context, what approaches can Colombia use in designing a gender-sensitive land restitution program that is transformative of gender relations? The authors argue that special protection measures, land deeds for women and better access to justice must be included in transitional justice processes as a means of fostering gender-equitable development.