Farc leader Ivan Marquez spoke at a ceremony last month marking the 50th anniversary of the group
The Colombian government and the Farc rebel group have agreed to set up a truth commission to investigate the deaths of thousands of people in five decades of conflict.
They have agreed to hear the demands of victims, who will travel to Cuba, where the peace talks are taking place.
The announcement is being seen as a significant step towards peace.
Some 220,000 people, many of them civilians, are estimated to have died in the conflict.
"The rights of the victims are non-negotiable," says a statement released in Havana.
The document lays out 10 points that will be the basis for discussions in the next round of talks, focusing on the victims of the conflict.
It says that the "victims must be recognised not only in their position as victims, but as citizens with rights".
The "victims of human rights abuses" have the right to the truth, justice, compensation and the guarantee that such violations will never happen again, says the document.
Victims of the conflict and their relatives will go to Havana, apparently in the near future, to share their experiences.
The acknowledgment by the guerrillas that there were victims in the conflict has been seen in Colombia as a historic statement, says the BBC's Arturo Wallace in Bogota.
The left-wing rebels and the government have so far rejected allegations of human rights abuses and blamed each other for the deaths and the displacement of at least 3 million people.
"Today is a special day. The day of the victims has arrived. We have made a huge step. The Havana process is not simply a closed door conversation about clashes," said government negotiator Humberto de la Calle.
"Each day we feel closer to the mountaintop, to the Mount Everest of rights, which is peace. Without that no other rights are possible," said rebel negotiator Ivan Marquez.
Peace and impunity
The peace process launched by President Juan Manuel Santos in November 2012 is one of the most controversial issues in the debate ahead of Sunday's presidential election.
Mr Santos has vowed to carry on negotiating with the left-wing rebels if he is elected to a second term.
His rival in the run-off vote, right-wing candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, initially said he was willing to put an end to the talks.
But he is now saying that the government would proceed with the negotiations provided the Farc accepted tougher conditions.
There will be no "peace with impunity," said Mr Zuluaga.
The presidential election has become for many a referendum on the validity of the peace process, says our correspondent.
There has been agreement on three of the six points in the agenda being negotiated in Cuba: land reform, political participation and illicit drugs.
The talks now enter a new phase with the debate on the rights of the victims.
Six points on peace agenda
- Land reform
- Political participation
- Illicit drugs
- Rights of the victims
- Disarmament
- Peace deal implementation
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Dear Friends :
ReplyDeleteI am kneeling on the floor and asking God for 8% advantage for Mr Zuluaga, that is one million votes. I am not asking God for two million because we should not abuse His Mercy and Patience.
The 8% is consistent with the best pollsters "Napoleón Franco Ipsos" and another private poll of an American Pollster based in New York City.
Other pollsters think that the contest is tight or give a little advantage to Mr Santos. But they failed miserably to predict the first round.
Colombia is a little flame of Democracy and Freedom in the strong winds of Latin American Despotism and Tyranny. So this would be a cause of celebration for all Good People around the world, including NATO ( NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION ) that are friends of Colombia. Colombia has been in NATO Air Force Exercises in Canada and the USA during the past three years.
I hope that Americans and Canadians can forget for an hour their very grave concerns with the Ukraine, Syria, Palestine, etc .... and uncork a bottle of champagne if my happy hopes become true reality.
Otherwise if I fail in my predictions it will be "weeping there, and the gnashing of teeth" and another pawn falls to Communism in the brutal form of Castro-Chavismo.