UN expert, Dr Gustavo Gallón is coming to St A.

Later today, the United Nations human rights specialist, Dr Gustavo Gallón, will give a talk called “Human Rights in Crisis: the Case of Colombia.” The talk was organized by the School of International Relations and is the second in a series intended to promote Latin American studies in St Andrews.

Dr Gallón’s talk will address the conditional agreement made between the Colombian government and the Farc guerrilla group this past Wednesday, 6 November. The agreement is a significant step forward toward the end of internal conflict in Colombia.

After more than forty years of violence, Colombia is coming close to establishing peace with its last guerrilla group. The Colombian government has been threatened by the Farc for fifty years, resulting in the death of nearly 220,000 people.

The conditions of the agreement have not been completely settled, however, it has generally been decided that the Farc rebels will put an end to their use of violence in return for full democratic representation and participation in Colombian politics.

Political representation of the Farc would require the establishment of temporary congressional districts, mostly in areas where the Farc have the strongest hold over the people. Details, such as how many seats would be allocated for the Farc and what Farc leaders would be allowed to hold  political office, have not been decided upon as of yet.

The event is open to the public and will take place in School III, at 17:15 in St Salvator’s Quad.

Image courtesy of www.st-andrews.ac.uk