What makes international partnerships meaningful in transitional processes?: The case of the Colombian Truth Commission (2018 – 2022)

<p dir="ltr">Colombia’s peacebuilding efforts are recognized worldwide as a standard for negotiation processes and implementation strategies that confront the past while promoting truth-seeking rooted in participatory and dialogue-driven approaches. This policy report reflects on the collaborative partnerships developed between the Colombian Truth Commission (CTC) and the international community understood as the diplomatic corps, Embassies and its bilateral agencies, multilateral actors including the United Nations and its agencies; as well as international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations, philanthropic and private foundations as well as international universities and think-and-do tanks.</p><p dir="ltr">These various international allies took on different roles based on their own mandates and the needs that emerged during the CTC’s work. On this basis, political support flourished, as did technical assistance and financial contributions that strengthened the institution, its processes, and the outputs of its mandate.</p><p dir="ltr">This policy report draws from the author’s extensive observations and lived experiences gained during her three years as the Director of the Office of Cooperation and Partnership and as a permanent advisor to the President of the CTC, Francisco de Roux. It briefly describes both parties in this experience (the CTC and the international community); analyses how the story of political relationship-building emerged in a particular context, summarizing the three main contributions from the international community to the CTC; highlights 7 enabling factors and best practices within this experience; and drafts specific recommendations that can inspire future practice in this field.</p>