5) Description of initiative: The Citizen Mandate, formally known as “Citizen Mandate for Peace, Life and Freedom” was an initiative promoted by REDEPAZ in company of other national and international organizations, such as país libre and UNICEF. Its intention was to mobilize Colombians to build a peace force that demanded peaceful solutions to the conflict, which respected the DIH regarding the atrocities that the conflict left behind, and that requested the armed parts to cease all confrontations and take part in building a lasting peace agreement. At that time, this initiative contributed to build a space where citizens, church, and non-governmental institutions could participate in an attempt to stop the war. In 1996, 2.7 million Children and 10 million Colombian adults in 1997 committed to the Peace Mandate. They all participated by vowing to help the construction of peace as a citizen duty and demanding the armed parts to stop the war and to respect the civilian population.

The Mandate had positive consequences: 1. A presidential Decree forbidding the enrollment of -18 youths, since military forces were recruiting 15- year olds. 2. All atrocities and violence acts against the civilian population perpetrated by all armed groups were condemned. 3. The “Campaign against Abduction and Forced Disappearance” which moved hundreds of thousands of people across the country was created. 4. The NO MAS (NO MORE) movements against all violence acts emerged. 5. ELN guerilla abducted minors were delivered. 6. All presidential candidates committed to the Peace Mandate demands. 7. Andrés Pastrana, the winning candidate, initiated the dialogue process with the guerillas, in recognition to the Mandate.

6) Description of innovation: The uniqueness of this initiative lays on it’s great impact and call capacity that promoted the movement. We impacted on the society’s pulse. We used a democratic mechanism, known by the people, where there was a place for expressing feelings against war and violence. The Peace Mandate’s call, using the vote strategy of “vote for peace” managed to get millions of votes, making everyone involved. It was a citizen pedagogy experience. This initiative has accomplished in the present day that other peace processes have been replicated over the country through REDPAZ, the peace constituent and territoriality area, which characterizes for its innovation in building spaces for citizen exercises that achieved the elaboration of development plans and participative budgets, strengthening the citizen participation and the local and regional govern ability initiatives for peace

7) Delivery model: The Peace Mandate’s initiative reached the civil society from a movement mechanism. Specifically, with a card that requested making a commitment vote for building peace and demanding the armed groups to stop violence and atrocity acts. This initiative, which has been extended to REDPAZ activities, has been consolidated through surveys and trainings aiming to develop peace pedagogy.

8) Key operational partnerships: Most important, to make the WHOLE SOCIETY come together in a common project. Businessmen, media (that played a fundamental role), churches, local authorities, NGO’s, international community. For all activities that REDPAZ replicates, we have counted with the mentioned support of organizations that have helped to consolidate in time the organization’s goals.

9) Financial model: 1. The citizen duty of peace building that REDPAZ has started requires, for the moment, the people’s time and volunteer collaboration. In this sense, the attained work is available to the society. We have also counted with international community’s collaborations.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 30%

          • Financing: The citizen empowerment for the construction of peace initiative has been benefited with grants and donations coming mainly from the international community. We highlight that the community has collaborated in a mostly important way with their time and volunteer work.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: The Peace Mandate initiative’s result: 1. The awareness for the need of peace. Condemn to war and violence, 2. Peace Legislation: Decrees forbidding the recruitment of youths, laws creating the Peace National Council, among others. 3. Start of dialogue with the guerillas in 1999 that had been cut off 8 years ago. 4. Recognition of civil society as a main actor 5. Creation of many other citizen initiatives. The benefit will be measurable in the long term.Thousands of deaths, abductions, forced dissapearances and relocations could be avoided if Colombia accomplished a state of peace. This peace building initiative the net has replicated in the development of constitutional processes has not only accomplished a high level of awareness within he community, but also has enabled them to have an incidence in the elaboration of development plans, participative budgets and governmental local and regional Peace initiatives. These benefits cannot de measured with an amount, but can be appreciated within the whole community.

          • Number of clients in past year: -

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Mature stage.

          • Expansion plan: For the next three years, the plan focuses on the creation of victim’s organizations strengthening processes, looking to enhance the movement of victims seeking truth, justice, repair and reconciliation rather than on continuing to strengthening constituent processes, or promoting the creation of humanitarian groups to lower the conflict’s impact on the population.

12) Origin of the initiative: The precedent was the “children’s mandate”, that propelled the creation of the “adult’s mandate”, which is precisely the peace mandate that compelled the civil movement to promote the peace-building processes awareness. This movement attained to create the national peace Council that promoted the dialogue with armed groups such as FARC. This initiative was mostly conducted by REDPAZ and supported by other social organizations and the international community. Keeping this in mind, REDPAZ committed to replicate the peace experience along the Colombian territory, which is precisely when the idea of creating a territorial and peace constitution axis came up. The work done was completed thanks to the community support.

Contact Information:
Ana Teresa  Bernal
Ashoka Fellow
Integrante de la Presidencia Colegiada
REDEPAZ: Red Nacional de Iniciativas de Paz y Contra la Guerra
(ONG)
Colombia
Website: www.redepaz.org