The Prosecutor´s Office specialized in Transitional Justice (Dirección de Fiscalía Nacional Especializada de Justicia Transicional) through the Internal Specialized Working Group (Grupo Interno de Trabajo Especializado) provides a timely orientation to guarantee the access to justice by registering facts experienced by victims and addressing these issues within the framework of transitional justice.
Who are considered victims within the framework of Transitional Justice?
People who suffered direct damages, either individually or collectively, as a result of actions committed by members of illegal armed groups (paramilitaries or guerrillas). A direct damage is any temporary or permanent injury which caused some kind of physical, psychological, sensorial impairment (visual or auditory), emotional suffering, financial loss or detriment of fundamental rights (right to life).
What does the Office of the Attorney General provide to victims?
The institution guarantees people´s right to the truth and justice. It also guides people in regard to procedures conducted in a process and informs about other guarantees that victims have.
Where and how does the process begin?
Anyone who considers her/himself a victim within the framework of Transitional Justice may initially ask for assistance at the Prosecutor´s Office specialized in Transitional Justice (Dirección de Fiscalía Nacional Especializada de Justicia Transicional) – Office of the Attorney General or its offices at national level, as well as other authorities such as the mayor´s office, Ombudsman´s Office (Defensoria), or the Inspector General´s Office (Procuraduría) where facts that were committed by illegal armed groups will be registered. A form can also be completed in our web site www.fiscalia.gov.co . It must be submitted to the authorities.
In any case, you must also provide documents accrediting your victim status, among others:
- Your identification. A circumstantial document proving that a direct damage has been suffered (at the time of registration, if possible).
- A copy of the report in which either a judicial, administrative or police authority was informed about the facts in which you became a victim (if you have it).
- In some cases it may be necessary to provide a document that shows the relationship with the victim. It must be issued by the competent authority. For further information, please visit www.fiscalia.gov.co and click on the menu Transitional Justice. You can also contact us on 01 8000 91 69 99 (toll-free), in Bogotá 57 (1) 587 97 50, (1) 5702000 and via email atencionvic.justiciatrans@fiscalia.gov.co.