Embedding Relational Restorative Justice in Columbia’s Total Peace Negotiations
By Kerry Clamp, University of Nottingham and Jennifer Llewellyn, Dalhousie University
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This Think Piece, a collaboration between the Restorative Lab at Dalhousie University and University of Notingham, argues that Colombia’s Total Peace policy represents a pivotal opportunity to embed relational restorative justice as the guiding framework for building a sustainable and inclusive peace. Drawing on ongoing negotiations between the Colombian government and Comuneros del Sur in Nariño, it shows how justice can be reimagined not as a discrete phase of post-conflict repair but as the relational architecture that connects and sustains the entire peace process. By centering relationships, participation, and contextual responsiveness, relational restorative justice transforms peacebuilding from a technical exercise into a process of co-construction rooted in dignity, trust, and shared responsibility. The paper identifies seven relational dimensions already emerging in practice and proposes six strategic recommendations for embedding them more intentionally in negotiation design and implementation. It concludes that when justice is enacted relationally, peace becomes not a settlement to be reached but a living process of transformation through which people, communities, and institutions rebuild together.
Relational Restorative Justice in Action: Building the conditions for just peace in Columbia
By Jennifer Llewellyn, Dalhousie University and Kerry Clamp, University of Nottingham
Click Here to View the Full Report [English]
This Think Piece explores how relational restorative justice is being enacted through Colombia’s ongoing peace process, with a focus on the Comuneros del Sur negotiations in Nariño. It builds on the foundational argument that justice must be lived and practiced within peace processes, not deferred until conflict ends. Drawing on the workshop held in Pasto in September 2025, it examines how justice is already being co-created through inclusive participation, shared responsibility, and local leadership. It considers the role of law not as the source of justice, but as an enabler of relational conditions, and outlines key orientations for policy, practice, and institutional design. The piece closes with a clear message: the compass for just peace exists. The question is whether Colombia will choose to follow it.
