Hegoa participates in the “Migration and Colombia: A nation in exile” conferences held in Bordeaux

In the interest of promoting a greater understanding of the Colombian conflict and how it relates to migration and exile, the international solidarity and popular education association, France Amérique Latine 33 (FAL 33), organised the "Migration and Colombia: A nation in exile" conferences on February 14 and 15 in Bordeaux.

Claudia Alejandra Sepúlveda-Giraldo, from Hegoa, was invited to participate in the panel on the role of people exiled during the peace process with the FARC-EP and the Colombian Truth Commission (CEV). Also participating in said panel was Enoan Díaz Martínez of the Movilizate platform, former coordinator of the Valencian support node for the CEV.

In front of a predominantly French audience, the speakers stressed that the CEV's work with exiles was possible thanks to constant calls for victims' rights abroad, even before the signing of the Peace Agreement with the FARC-EP.

They also explained the processes and findings that led to the unprecedented inclusion of victims of exile in a world truth commission.. This inclusion was spoken of in the chapter entitled “The truths of exile: Colombia outside of Colombia” of the publication “There is a future if there is truth: Final Report of the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence, and Non-Repetition” (2022).

Those present expressed gratitude and positively valued the historical contribution of the aforementioned report, but there were also criticisms and rejections in this regard. In response to these comments, Sepúlveda and Díaz emphasised the respect deserved by the victims who supported the mandate of the first Colombian institution dedicated to the Right to the Truth, as well as the relevance of the institutional documentary repository which is now available and open to public consultation.

The conference also included a photography exhibition entitled "Disparos por disparos" ("Shots for Shots") by Alexa Rochi and Ivonne Alonso Mondragón, whose images touch upon the peace process with the FARC-EP, Colombian rejection of the peace referendum, the 2021 national strike, and the struggles of the feminist movement and LGTBIQ+ collectives, among other aspects.