Human rights QC to speak at Faculty event on Colombia peace accord

A prominent human rights lawyer is to speak about the challenges of implementing peace in Colombia, and her role in the efforts to end the armed conflict, at an event organised by the Faculty of Advocates.

Kirsty Brimelow QC, who chairs the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales, will speak at the open event, on Friday 28 September from 5pm in the Faculty’s Mackenzie Building.

Ms Brimelow was involved in the efforts to achieve a peace accord between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and recently returned from a visit to assess the impact of the agreement on the rural community.

In spite of the agreement, a human rights activist or community leader is killed every three days in Colombia, and Ms Brimelow has titled her talk, "Defending Human Rights – Peace in Colombia: Another Magical Realism?"

She commented: "Peace is a fragile concept. Transitional justice in Colombia sits alongside protests at the increase in killings in the rural parts of Colombia and the transitional justice framework is encountering a different political age. The newly-elected President has been active in his opposition to the peace agreement. If suffering and change are able to join hands, what does this mean for rural communities – for the farmers and indigenous people?"

The free event is organised by the Faculty’s Human Rights & Rule of Law Committee. Click here for full details and to register.