Over the years, this website has become Colombia’s largest English language news source. With the country entering a major peace process, it is now our task to report on its risks, opportunities, successes, challenges and failures, and make sure you are best informed. We can do this only with your help though.
We’ve been able to document the progress in the peace talks between the government and the Marxist guerrillas in relative ease since 2012 until the end.
I believe our work has left an important archive in English on the chronology of events in English that could be used as reference in future peace processes across the globe.
However, the talks were the easy part. The hard part, scrutinizing the execution of the peace deal, is just beginning.
In a previous editorial, I had already outlined our priorities in the coming process:
Colombia Reports’ priorities
- Report on observers’ verification of the warring parties’ compliance to the peace deal
- Denounce cases of impunity for war crimes
- Report on possible cases of corruption with peace building funds
- Report on the real public security situation in the country, particularly the countryside
I also announced we’d increasingly be calling for your financial support and I hope you will be able to help.
Our current supporters have already helped us ramp up security that proved more than necessary when this website came under serious cyber attacks in the week around the October 2 referendum on the peace deal.
Basically, without the financial support of Colombia Reports’ community of readers we wouldn’t even be here right now.
Colombia Reports’ bias and vested interest in the FARC peace deal
Why Colombia Reports matters, especially now
Because of this website’s relatively large audience and ability to scratch beneath the surface, Colombia Reports finds itself in the unique position to report in English on events in a peace process of global significance. This is unprecedented since the beginning of online journalism.
However, this task is going to require extra resources if we want to report both on the peace process and continue reporting on other important issues like the economy and tourism.
But especially in regards to the peace process it is important that local, on-the-ground, independent news media are able to scrutinize the process.
Colombia Reports is one of very few organizations that is able to take its reporting beyond what can be reported by international news media that can only reserve so much space for Colombia and is thus only able to superficially report on the peace process’ advances and challenges.
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International media has the potential to influence governments and international organizations, and as such can have an agenda-setting effect. These reports, however, are not always the most accurate reflection of the relative severity and risk of a particular conflict.
United States Institute for Peace
More importantly, this website is read abroad — also by your politicians and diplomats — and has the possibility to alert the international community if either long-lasting peace or justice is under threat.
This international pressure may be necessary if the Colombian government, the FARC or any third party fails to honor the peace agreement.
Our reporting can spur such international response in the event there emerge threats to Colombians’ efforts to obtain peace, truth and justice.
Guarantees regarding the media and freedom of the press—as well as efforts to promote professional, objective, unbiased reporting—should be an integral part of any successful peace agreement.
United States Institute for Peace
Colombia Reports wants to play a constructive role in Colombia’s quest for peace, truth and justice. We can’t and don’t want to compromise this role by having to resort to for-profit reporting.
However, in order to report on Colombia’s peace process adequately, we need you to get involved. So, please, support us.
Note for news organizations and embassies
If you are a diplomat, or journalist with a commercial or public news outlet, we offer numerous services, including a hotline to our newsroom and unlimited access to our collection of data for news organizations and embassies.
For $10/month, you’ll get direct access to our reporters. For $20/month, your organization will additionally have unlimited access to our extensive data collection.
Together we can make sure that Colombia’s peace process, with all the successes and failures it will contain, can serve as a reference for future peace processes, just like past peace processes have provided references for peace building in Colombia.
This is important. This is why Colombia Reports matters.
