Home Colombia: Country Focus 2. Legal and political situation 2.2. System of government Table of contents Table of Contents Acknowledgements Disclaimer Glossary and abbreviations Introduction Methodology Defining the terms of reference Collecting information Quality control Sources Oral sources Map data Research challenges Note on terminology Structure and use of the report 1. Overview of developments 2023-2025 2. Legal and political situation 2.1. Demographics and migration profile 2.2. System of government 2.2.1. Branches 2.2.2. State security forces 2.2.3. Oversight Institutions 2.3. Political developments 2.3.1. Political violence in the context of the 2026 elections 2.4. International legal instruments 3. Security situation 3.1. Main armed and criminal groups 3.1.1. Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC) 3.1.2. Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) 3.1.3. Frente Comuneros del Sur (FCS) 3.1.4. Estado Mayor de Bloques y Frentes (EMBF) 3.1.5. Coordinadora Nacional Ejército Bolivariano (CNEB) 3.1.6. Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN) 3.1.7. Organised crime gangs 3.2. Conflict dynamics and main areas of dispute 3.2.1. Catatumbo, Norte de Santander 3.2.2. Southern Bolívar 3.2.3. Lower Cauca River region in Antioquia 3.2.4. Arauca 3.2.5. Pacific coastal areas of Nariño, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, and Chocó 3.3. Peace initiatives 3.3.1. 2016 FARC-EP Peace Agreement 3.3.2. 'Total Peace' Plan 3.4. State response 4. Impact of the violence on civilians and human rights 4.1. Conflict-related violence 4.1.1. Overview 4.1.2. Homicides and massacres 4.1.3. Enforced disappearances 4.1.4. Kidnapping 4.1.5. Extortion 4.1.6. Forced displacement 4.1.7. Confinement 4.1.8. Anti-personnel mines 4.1.9. Violent acts against healthcare and education provision 4.1.10. Capacity of armed and criminal groups to track and trace targets who relocate 4.2. Other human rights issues 4.2.1. Trafficking in human beings 4.2.2. Torture 4.2.3. Prison conditions 4.2.4. Abuses and extra-judicial killings by state actors 4.3. Treatment of specific profiles 4.3.1. Victims of extortion, including the gota-a-gota loan 4.3.2. Social leaders 4.3.3. Former combatants of the FARC-EP 4.3.4. Political activists and electoral candidates 4.3.5. People involved in the justice system 4.3.6. Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in conflict-areas 4.3.7. Journalists 4.3.8. Trade unionists 4.3.9. Victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) 4.3.10. Children 4.3.12. LGBTIQ persons 5. State institutions and access to justice 5.1. Attorney-General's Office (Fiscalía General de la Nación, FGN) 5.2. Anti-kidnapping and extortion units (Grupos de Acción Unificada por la Libertad Personal, GAULA) 5.3. Office of the Ombudsperson (Defensoría del Pueblo) 5.4. National Protection Unit (Unidad Nacional de Protección, UNP) 5.5. Constitutional Court 5.6. Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, JEP) 5.7. Victim’s Unit (Unidad para la Atención y Reparación Integral a las Víctimas, UARIV) 5.8. Effectiveness and access to justice/courts Annex 1: Bibliography Oral sources, including anonymous sources Public sources Annex 2: Terms of Reference Print 2.2. System of government Colombia is a federal republic with a democratic representative political system and a clear division of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches.62 It is governed by the Constitution of 1991.63 62 OAS, Sistema Legal Colombiano, n.d., url, p. 163 OAS, Sistema Legal Colombiano, n.d., url, p. 1 Book traversal links for Colombia: Country Focus Previous Parent Next
