Access to Remedy in Colombia - Examining the nexus between transitional justice and business and human rights

Sammanfattning: The fields of transitional justice and business and human rights have until recently seldom been examined jointly, despite the fact that their approaches reflect plenty of opportunities for potential synergies. This thesis bears the overarching aim of contributing to a greater understanding of how the two fields interact when states are transitioning from active armed conflict to post-conflict phases. In particular, the thesis examines the nexus between access to remedy (understood as pillar III of the UNGPs) and transitional justice processes, through the contextual lens of the ongoing transitional justice process in Colombia. The research is guided by a mixed methodological approach, interlacing an interdisciplinary method, a critical element and a method which has been labeled ‘analysis of the law’. This approach allows for exploring how the issue of corporate accountability can and should be addressed in transitional justice processes, in light of access to remedy. It can also help to identify lessons which might be extrapolated and drawn upon in future transitional justice processes. Even though the Colombian transitional justice process was shaped at a time when the business and human rights agenda was gaining significant ground – both globally and in the state itself – the remedial mechanisms established through the Peace Agreement of 2016 do not address corporate responsibility to any further extent. The mechanisms established lack jurisdiction over juridical persons, and were in the latter stages of the drafting process stripped of the mandate of summoning so-called third-party actors (non-combatants). This has not only contributed to hinder victims of corporate human rights abuses access to remedy in the Colombian context, but also negatively impacted the victims right to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. The thesis concludes that the fields of transitional justice and business and human rights have much to gain from increased engagement, and that this increased interaction needs to be intentionally, continuously and purposefully pursued.