The Limited Impact of Partial Peace Agreements: What Other Countries Can Learn from Colombia's Historic Quest for Peace

Policy Brief No. 3 As of December 2019, nineteen out of thirty-five countries with at least one active armed conflict had more than one active armed group. In the Western Hemisphere, Colombia has been the only country to experience more than one armed conflict for over half a century. Since the 1980s and amid multiple protracted conflicts, numerous negotiation efforts were made with armed groups, producing thirty-six Partial Peace Agreements (PPAs). However, these agreements and their implementation proved insufficient for ending armed conflict and building sustainable peace. Although PPAs are limited in scope and their potential for conflict transformation, they can be a useful tool for building trust among signatories in order to continue the negotiation process and encourage non-signatories to join future negotiations.