(2025) 6 TWAIL Review 51-80
ISSN 2563-6693
Published under a Creative Commons licence. 

The Colombian peace agreement with the FARC follows a novel approach to Transitional Justice, prioritizing victims and restoring damages from the conflict. This system integrates judicial and non-judicial justice, truth, and reparation mechanisms. Rooted in theories from the Global North, these approaches are sometimes applied without considering local contexts, leading to interpretations of transitional justice as a form of colonization. The Colombian model challenges this by incorporating local cultural and traditional practices within its restorative framework. This raises a question: do these practices represent transformative change, or are they cosmetic responses? Interviews with judicial officials, victims, and representatives of civil and non-governmental organizations highlight the significance of integrating conscious responses to affected communities. This emphasizes local practices as meaningful for victims rather than performative gestures. Ultimately, I argue that the purpose of the current transitional justice system should acknowledge the rights, humanity, and agency of human and non-human elements beyond performative acts.