Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding The Education Profiles Of Eight Latin American Countries, Girl Center

Adolescents and Young People

Despite significant progress in improving primary enrollment and attainment for girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent years, gender disparities in education persist and hinder opportunities for girls. Educational attainment for girls has plateaued in numerous countries, with only a few making significant strides in narrowing the gender gap. Moreover, attainment alone does not always translate to improved learning. Gender-related barriers such as school environments that are not conducive to learning and the experience of violence, early and forced marriage, and early childbearing, as well as a lack of support for girls’ education impede attainment and learning. The …

A Human Rights Approach To Climate-Induced Displacement: A Case Study In Central America And Colombia, Camila Bustos, Juliana Vélez-Echeverri

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The past decade was the warmest decade ever recorded. As climate impacts intensify, numbers of people displaced and in need of relocation increase. International law has yet to adapt to a changing climate and its implications for those most vulnerable. Experts still debate whether the existing refugee regime could provide a solution for those displaced by climate across international borders, while national governments continue to reckon with the domestic implications of internal displacement fueled by climate impacts. In this article, we apply a human rights lens to climate induced displacement, drawing from two case studies to highlight the human rights …

Food As A Vector For Change: Lessons From The Third Sector On Improving Livelihoods With Nutritional Knowledge In Medellín And Bogotá, Solomon Treister

Honors Theses

In this thesis I argue that improving diet in communities depends on building nutritional knowledge. In examining the role of community level organizations, I look specifically at how knowledge is conveyed through agriculture and gastronomy. This project analyzes how civil society organizations work to reintegrate individuals into food systems, compelling consumers to take agency over their diets and pursue better livelihoods. The industrialization of food systems has fundamentally changed the way humans connect with food and diet. In Colombia, internal displacements and urban migration have accelerated a loss of connection with the land and food processes. At the same time, …

Taking Responsibility Under International Law: Human Trafficking And Colombia’S Venezuelan Migration Crisis, Luz Estella Nagle, Juan Manuel Zarama

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

For more than six million Venezuelans, crossing international borders has become imperative to ensuring security and a livelihood that their country has failed to assure. These migrants and refugees, particularly young women and children, are vulnerable to many depredations, criminal acts, and the risk of becoming trafficking victims for forced labor and sexual slavery. This article focuses on State responsibility for migrant populations and analyzes conditions in Venezuela that caused a massive migration, the conditions in Colombia as a host State, the uncertain status of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, and human trafficking and its impact on the migrant population.

Learning Local Languages As A Means Of Preserving Culture: An Analysis Of The Federal Education Laws’ Treatment Of Regional Languages In The Basque Country And Colombia, Olivia Jaramillo

Honors Theses

Regional languages are essential components of vibrantly diverse cultures. Across all regions of the globalizing modern world, regional languages remain one of the clearest markers of the rich heritage and history that each continent, country, state, city, town uniquely possesses. Unlike the more dominant languages of our evolving international landscape, local and regional languages explicitly capture precise cultural experiences of limited populations. These languages carry specific nuance, meaning, grammar, and vocabulary obscured by other forms of communication. This project, researching and analyzing two individual countries’ regional language education under the federal legal systems, holds the importance of safeguarding local languages …

Mano Dura And Beyond: An Analysis Of Police Reform In Latin America, Ari Moore

CMC Senior Theses

Physical insecurity and high rates of crime plague Latin America. The problem is economically costly, detrimental to physical and mental health, and damaging to political legitimacy, while also fueling a migration crisis and negatively impacting societal views on human rights. The police are tasked with responding to and investigating crime, but have been historically ineffective at doing so. In recent decades, many countries in the region have implemented significant police reforms in pursuit of decreasing crime and insecurity. This thesis will analyze reforms in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico to determine regional themes of reform. The lessons from those case …

"Prevention Through Deterrence" Against Citizens: The Venezuela-Colombia Border During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Human Rights Implications, Andreina Negretti Benito

Honors Theses

This thesis analyses the human rights implications of the measures taken by the Venezuelan government at the Venezuelan-Colombian border during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will argue that the goal of these measures is preventing or impeding the return of citizens through "deterrence techniques" that have been historically used by other countries. This case's importance relies on the fact that, unlike other cases, the Venezuelan government uses these "techniques" against its own nationals, rather than against unwanted immigrants. The first chapter will provide an overview of the theoretical framework concerning migration, arguments regarding open borders, and human rights protections. This will …

Colombia's Judicial Reform: What Now?, Maya Smith

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

A current body of research examines Colombia’s judicial institutions and focuses on the successes and failures of past reforms. While the literature is overwhelmingly negative, scholars have managed to put forward pieces of a potential solution. I draw on these analyses to answer the question, “what is the best possible course of action for Colombia’s future judicial reform projects?” Throughout this paper, I draw on Colombian newspapers, think-tank reports, survey research, and academic studies to formulate a cohesive answer. This existing literature identifies that Colombia’s weak judiciary stems from Spanish colonialism’s lasting influence, the reactive and defensive nature of judges, …

Terrorism And Counter-Terrorism In Latin America: A Comparative Study Of Peru And Colombia, Reagan Shane

Global Tides

This paper investigates the counter-terrorism strategies employed against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Colombia and the Shining Path (SL) in Peru and analyzes the effectiveness of those strategies. It begins by exploring the foundation of each organization and its respective goals, organization and tactics. Using this information, it then explores the counter-terrorism strategies employed by the government of each country in which the organizations were operating to determine the effectiveness of those strategies and how the structure of the terrorist organization might change that effectiveness. The paper concludes that military strategies have only been somewhat effective in …

Assessing Changes In The Epidemiology Of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis In Southwest Colombia Following The Peace Accord With Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias De Colombia (Farc), Matthew Stephen Benczkowski

Public Health Theses

The Colombian Conflict persisted for over 50 years, recently coming to an end in November 2016 after the signing of Colombia’s Peace Agreement between the government and FARC guerrilla group. Internal armed conflict is often entangled with the exacerbation of health outcomes, including promoting the spread of infectious diseases like cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). CL is a vector-borne parasitic disease localized to the human tegument that decreases quality of life through lesions leading to scars and associated stigmatization. This study assessed changes in demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with CL in Southwest Colombia before and after the signing of the …

The Icc In Latin America: An Old Friend With New Challenges, Naomi Roht-Arriaza

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Enter 9/11: Latin America And The Global War On Terror, Markus-Michael Müller

Security Research Hub Reports

This article offers an analysis of the transnational discursive construction processes informing Latin American security governance in the aftermath of 9/11. It demonstrates that the Global War on Terror provided an opportunity for external and aligned local knowledge producers in the security establishments throughout the Americas to reframe Latin America's security problems through the promotion of a militarized security epistemology, and derived policies, centered on the region's ‘convergent threats’. In tracing the discursive repercussions of this epistemic reframing, the article shows that, by tapping into these discourses, military bureaucracies throughout the Americas were able to overcome their previous institutional marginalization …

Central Latin America: Two Decades Of Challenges In Neglected Tropical Disease Control, Peter J. Hotez, Ashish Damania, Maria Elena Bottazzi

Security Research Hub Reports

"Since the start of the 21st Century, the CLA region has faced considerable challenges, including prolonged droughts with intermittent and extreme floods due to climate change; violence and political instability linked to the drug trade; political, socioeconomic, and food insecurity from agricultural declines; human displacements; urbanization; and even the marginalization of large indigenous populations [2, 3]. Here, we provide an overview of the findings from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study from the years 2000 and 2017 highlighting the gains or losses in neglected tropical disease (NTD) and malaria disease control in the CLA countries and progress towards the …

Contested Borders: Organized Crime, Governance, And Bordering Practives In Colombia-Venezuela Borderlands, Viviana Garcia Pinzon, Jorge Mantilla

Security Research Hub Reports

"Based on the conceptualizations of organized crime as both an enterprise and a form of governance, borderland as a spatial category, and borders as institutions, this paper looks at the politics of bordering practices by organized crime in the ColombianVenezuelan borderlands. It posits that contrary to the common assumptions about transnational organized crime, criminal organizations not only blur or erode the border but rather enforce it to their own benefit. In doing so, these groups set norms to regulate socio-spatial practices, informal and illegal economies, and migration flows, creating overlapping social orders and, lastly, (re)shaping the borderland. Theoretically, the analysis …

Malaria In Gold Miners In The Guianas And The Amazon: Current Knowledge And Challenges, Maylis Douine, Yann Lambert, Lise Musset, Helene Hiwat, Liana Reis Blume, Paola Marchesini, Gilberto Gilmar Moresco, Horace Cox, Juan F. Sanchez, Leopoldo Villegas, Vincent Pommier De Santi

Security Research Hub Reports

“Purpose of Review Following Paraguay and Argentina, several countries from the Amazon region aim to eliminate malaria. To achieve this, all key affected and vulnerable populations by malaria, including people working on gold mining sites, must be considered. What is the situation of malaria in these particular settings and what are the challenges? This literature review aims to compile knowledge to answer these questions. Recent Findings The contexts in which gold miners operate are very heterogeneous: size and localization of mines, links with crime, administrative status of the mines and of the miners, mobility of the workers or national regulations. …

Global Corruption Baromoter Latin America & The Caribbean 2019: Citizens' Views And Experiences Of Corruption, Coralie Pring, Jon Vrushi

Security Research Hub Reports

"In the last five years, momentum has been building against corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean. High-level politicians were found guilty of corruption in Guatemala and Brazil, and a wave of legal action against the perpetrators of grand corruption swept across the continent, including the Lava Jato investigation, or “Operation Car Wash”, in Brazil. This presents a real opportunity for anti-corruption in the region. However, this 10th edition of the Global Corruption Barometer – Latin America and the Caribbean shows that most citizens think their governments are not doing enough to tackle corruption and that corruption levels have increased …

The Law Of Justice And Peace And The Disappeared: A Critical Evaluation Of Forensic Intervention As A Tool Of Transitional Justice In Colombia, María Alexandra López Cerquera

Doctoral Dissertations

The first process of transitional justice in Colombia was implemented in 2005 through the Law of Justice and Peace (LJP) that focused on the demobilization of paramilitary groups under the government of Alvaro Uribe Vélez. Although the LJP has received multiple criticisms, state bureaucracy has portrayed forensic intervention as ‘the great success’ of the transitional justice process.In this dissertation, based on 11 months of ethnographic research in Colombia, I explore whether an efficient methodology existed on the part of forensic state agencies in order to find and identify the remains of forcibly disappeared persons and the role(s) that families have …

Political Power In The Peripheries: The Paramilitares From Magdalena Medio (Colombia), 1978-2003, Nicolás Guillermo Velásquez Hernández

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation explores the political discourse and military behavior of the “paramilitares” right-wing militia as well as of the local political alliances that sponsored and initially controlled these militias in the Magdalena Medio region, a rural periphery in Colombia, during the last decades of the 20th century. Previous literature explains these right-wing militias simultaneously as reaction of rural elites to the incapacity of the Central State to monopolize political violence and as the consequence of the rural elites fear of an agrarian reform. Yet, from a tradition Weberian perspective, it is impossible to present the state as both capable and …

Plata O Plomo: Effect Of Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations On The American Criminal Justice System, Mark M. Mcpherson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Paramilitary Politics And Corruption Talk In Colombia, Winifred L. Tate

Winifred L. Tate

Syria And Colombia: A Study Of Intervention, Nicole E. Gomez

Open Access Theses

Civil war has persisted as a relevant topic of debate concerning U.S. foreign policy. On the international stage, getting involved in another nation’s civil war has become highly contentious. Following intervention in Vietnam, Korea, Somalia, and later in Libya, many argue towards a more isolationist U.S. stance. One of the mostly highly debated cases of civil war today is the case of Syria. While many are pushing for the U.S. to do more, many are sending a warning to stay away. Much closer to home, Colombia sought to control a drug-fueled civil war that erupted to a level that the …

Colombian Peace Process Likely To Succeed, Kayla D. Graves

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On 2 October 2016, Colombians voted on a referendum to “end the conflict and establish stable and enduring peace” between Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC, and Colombia’s democratic government. The referendum was rejected by a narrow margin―49.8% of voters in favor of the peace deal and 50.2% opposed. Following the referendum several terms were revised and the peace accord was approved by Colombian Congress on 30 November 2016. Now, the transition to peace begins.

Structured Analytic Techniques including Analysis of Competing Hypotheses, Scenario Generation, and Red Team Analysis support the conclusion that the Colombian peace process will likely …

Rebels, Government Maneuver To Keep Colombia Peace Talks On Track, Andrã©S Gaudã­N

NotiSur

No abstract provided.

Resurgence Of Paramilitary Violence In Colombia As Peace Deal Nears, Andrã©S Gaudã­N

NotiSur

No abstract provided.

Alvaro Uribe Velez: Maintaining Popularity Despite Significant Government Scandals, Juliana A. Canas Baena

Scripps Senior Theses

Despite the scandals and the increase in violence towards vulnerable communities, Uribe and his government still had an extremely high approval rating. His popularity may be explained as a result of the majority of citizens benefitting from his policies because while they violate human rights, they function as mechanisms that support and enhance his success in delivering stability to Colombia’s middle and upper-classes. Moreover, Uribe did not address critics of his government or the media, instead he created a discourse that his government and its policies were responsible for successfully combatting the guerrillas and cartels and improving the economy. Thus …

The Consequences Of Plan Colombia: Domestic Drug Policies In Colombia, Brittany T. Reid

Standard Theses

None

An Evaluation Of The Potential Impact Of Community Oriented Policing In Latin America, Gabriella A. Ippolito

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the potential impact of community oriented policing in Latin America through a series of case studies from Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and El Salvador dating from the early 1990’s to the present. They are analyzed through a typology that organizes community oriented policing strategies according to costliness to the police. Costliness is defined as the amount of power that the police have to renounce to the community to implement a certain strategy. The thesis concludes that community oriented policing is an improvement over militarized policing strategies as it has the possibility to enhance both human security and …

Local Media Representations Of The Colombian Women’S Peace Movement La Ruta Pacífica De Las Mujeres, Elizabeth Anna Kersjes

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to analyze how the media in Colombia covers the events and campaigns of the pacifist women’s movement La Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres. The movement was formed in 1996 to draw attention to violence against women and to call for a negotiated end to Colombia’s internal armed conflict through peaceful demonstrations. The study uses a series of semi-structured interviews with members of the movement and a content analysis of major print media stories about the movement to analyze press coverage and forms of representation. The analysis finds that large, powerful media outlets based …

Paramilitary Forces In Colombia, Winifred Tate

Winifred L. Tate

How can we understand the transformation of Colombian paramilitary groups during the past two decades? Intimately connected to drug trafficking, paramilitary groups have infiltrated political institutions and enjoyed significant political support even as they have used extreme brutality. Since the early 1990s, paramilitaries have grown exponentially in strength, creating a national coordinating body and carrying out military offensives. These developments brought territorial expansion throughout Colombia and a peak in political violence, typified by massacres from 1997 to 2003. After negotiations with government officials, more than thirty-two thousand troops passed through demobilization programs verified by the Organization of American States; much …

From Greed To Grievance: The Shifting Political Profile Of The Colombian Paramilitaries, Winifred Tate

Winifred L. Tate

On June 28, 2004, indicted drug trafficker and paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso, wearing a fashionable Italian suit and tie, addressed the Colombian Congress from the podium. "The judgment of history will recognize the goodness and nobility of our cause," he told the assembled legislators and press. The day before, Mancuso, along with two other paramilitary leaders, had traveled in an official air force plane from the small northern Colombia hamlet where paramilitary leaders had assembled to begin talks with the Colombian government. After almost a decade of fighting outside the law, Mancuso was now addressing the heart of the state, …