Author: Paula Gaviria
BiographyPaula Gaviria
Paula Gaviria Betancur is the Former Presidential Advisor on Human Rights in Colombia, where she led the implementation of the Colombian Strategy for the Guarantee of Human Rights 2014-2034. A lawyer by training, she launched and directed, for more than four years, the Victims Unit, a government entity responsible for reparations for eight million victims of the armed conflict. For this work, the World Bank awarded her the José Edgardo Campos 2016 Collaborative Leadership Award. Ms. Gaviria contributed to the chapter on victims’ rights in the final Peace Agreement signed between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP, which granted a leading role to victims in the implementation of the agreement. Previously, she led initiatives with civil society organizations, such as Fundación Social. She served as head of the Communications Division of the Constitutional Court, as well as private secretary of the Ombudsman. She also directed the National Directorate for the Promotion of Human Rights of the Ombudsman’s Office. She is now Director General of Fundación Compaz, created by Nobel prize Laureate Juan Manuel Santos, contributing to peace building efforts in Colombia and around the globe.
An interview with Paula Gaviria
Paula Gaviria Betancur is the Former Presidential Advisor on Human Rights in Colombia, where she led the implementation of the Colombian Strategy for the Guarantee of Human Rights 2014-2034. She served as head of the Communications Division of the Constitutional Court, as well as private secretary of the Ombudsman. She also directed the National Directorate for the Promotion of Human Rights of the Ombudsman’s Office. She is now Director General of Fundación Compaz, created by Nobel prize Laureate Juan Manuel Santos, contributing to peace building efforts in Colombia and around the globe.
She was interviewed by Daniel Cervan-Gil, Manager of Programs at the Global Centre for Pluralism on September 15, 2020.
In this interview, Paula reflects on the impacts of the pandemic on the Colombian peace process, and offers insights into the situation of vulnerable displaced populations in Latin America.