About us
Advisors in peace negotiations and implementation of transformative agreements.
On November 24, 2016, the “Final Agreement to end the armed conflict and build a stable and lasting peace” was signed at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá, which helped to put an end to a war of more than half a century.
The success of the negotiation was due in part to the design of the process, the methodical preparation and development of knowledge in each of its phases, the creation of a legal framework, and in general the building of a vision for peace in Colombia. This work was carried out by a group of men and women in the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (OHCHR).
In 2023, this same group of people decided to meet again and create Fundacion Acordemos to preserve the valuable experience and knowledge acquired in the Havana negotiations and use it for the benefit of other negotiation scenarios in Colombia and abroad. The Foundation was formally established in Bogota on August 15, 2023.
Currently, the Foundation hosts a diverse group of people -mostly former members of the OACP, but also international experts and allies- who, from different disciplines and professional and personal backgrounds, contributed directly and with technical rigor to the preparation, negotiation and implementation of the Peace Agreement with the FARC-EP. Subsequently, they have also worked in other conflict situations and negotiations in places such as Venezuela, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Nigeria, as well as in multilateral scenarios, among others.
Our
team
Sergio
Jaramillo
President
As High Commissioner for Peace of Colombia (2012-2017), and previously as National Security Advisor (2010-2012) he designed and led the secret negotiations with the FARC-EP and subsequently, together with Humberto de la Calle, the public phase of the negotiations, which concluded with the Final Agreement of November 2024. He was also responsible for supervising on behalf of the National Government the process of disarmament and transition to legality of the FARC-EP. He then served as Colombia's ambassador to the European Union and Belgium (2017-2018) and currently advises negotiation processes in different parts of the world. He was also Vice-Minister of Defense for Policy and International Affairs (2006-2009), where he supervised security and human rights policies, director of the Ideas for Peace Foundation (2004-2006) and advisor to the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs (2000-2003).
sergio.jaramillo@acordemos.org
Carlos
Prieto
Executive Director
Between 2014 and 2018, he was part of the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, advising on the peace dialogues between the Government and the FARC and ELN, focusing on DDR processes and security measures. He has been a researcher and coordinator of the conflict dynamics area of the Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP) and advisor to the Truth Commission in Colombia. He has also worked as a consultant in security, negotiations and peace building for control agencies and various national and international organizations, also participating in the last peace process in Afghanistan. He is a political scientist with a master’s degree in international affairs.
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carlos.prieto@acordemos.org
Gerson
Arias
Director Lessons learned in peace negotiations programme
He worked in the Office of the High National Security Advisor and the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (OACP) of Colombia between 2010-2018. He participated in the negotiations with the FARC from the beginning of the secret phase and was thematic director of the OACP. He also participated on behalf of the government in the secret and public phase in the negotiations with the ELN. He was director of Social Dialogue of the Colombian Truth Commission between 2018 and 2022. Researcher and coordinator of the conflict dynamics area of the Fundacin Ideas para la Paz (FIP) between 2001 and 2010. He was an advisor to the United States Institute of Peace and the FIP between 2022 and 2024. Political scientist from the National University of Colombia, with a master’s degree in planning and specialization in Government and Public Policy.
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gerson.arias@acordemos.org
Maria del Pilar
Barbosa
Director Territorial Peace Programme
She was an advisor in the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace during the peace process with the FARC (2012-2017). She participated in the negotiations in Havana, mainly supporting the discussion of the point on illicit drugs. She was part of the IFIT project in Colombia, was Coordinator of the Non-Repetition Objective in the Truth Commission and Deputy Director of Participation in the ART, leading the methodological design of the PDETs. She also worked at the Ministry of Defense and the Office of the High National Security Advisor. She is an economist, specialist in Government and Public Policy, and master’s in development studies.
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maria.barbosa@acordemos.org
Natalia
Arboleda
International Alliances
and Special Projects
Advisor to the Government's negotiating team in the peace process with the FARC between 2012 and 2017, she was responsible for processes related to victims' rights, transitional justice, humanitarian measures, and led key legislative processes for the implementation of the Agreement. Subsequently, she worked at the Colombian Mission in New York, accompanying the country's representation before the Security Council and other instances of the multilateral organization. Lawyer from Universidad de los Andes and LLM from Columbia University.. natalia.arboleda@acordemos.org
Mario
Puerta
Senior Advisor
Advisor to the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace Colombian Government in the peace process with the FARC between 2013 and 2018, particularly in relation to political participation and normative implementation of what was agreed. Between 2018 and 2022, he was part of the Colombian Mission in Brussels working before the Governments of Belgium and Luxembourg as well as the European Union. Lawyer from the Universidad Javeriana, with a master’s degree in political science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and studies at the Université Paris II - Panthéon Assas.. mario.puerta@acordemos.org
Fernando Buitrago Agudelo
Operational Coordinator of the National Confluence of Women Leaders and Community Leaders for Peace
Worked in the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (2017-2018) as peace liaison in the Department of Guaviare supporting the transit of the FARC to the reincorporation areas of Colinas and Charras. He has been a social leader in Southern Meta for more than 20 years and participated as a documenter of the Open Library project of the Peace Process. He has worked in collective reparation processes in the Victims Unit. He is a Business Administrator, Specialist in Project Management and Master in Peacebuilding.
Senior
Advisors
Elena
Ambrosi
Alternate negotiator and director of the thematic area in the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace during the negotiations between the Colombian Government and the FARC (2012-2017), in charge of preparing all position papers and proposals of the Government during the negotiation. Subsequently, she was Delegated Attorney for the Peace Agreement and led the coordination of recommendations of the Truth Commission. She was awarded the Hillary Clinton Award for her support to women and victims of the conflict. Lawyer from the Universidad de los Andes and specialist in International Humanitarian Law.
Monica
Cifuentes
Legal director of the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (2012-2017). She oversaw the legal framework necessary to make the talks possible. Former advisor on criminal policy to the Ministry of Justice. Deputy Inspector General before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and regional director of the Attorney General's Office. Magistrate of the Constitutional Court by designation and advisor on transitional justice and peace processes at UNDP. She has worked on key initiatives such as the Presidential Anti-Corruption Program and the Demobilization Program. In 2016, she was the only woman nominated for Attorney General of Colombia.
Marcela
Durán
She was director of communications for the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace and responsible for government communications in the peace process with the FARC (2012-2017). She is an expert in crisis communication and dialogue facilitation in territories affected by violence. She advised the Ministry of Defense in strengthening the Program of Humanitarian Attention to the Demobilized and designed strategies to prevent the recruitment of minors. She was communications manager of the USAID Resilient Youth Program. Social communicator and journalist.
General R
Alberto Mejía
Commander General of the Colombian Army and Military Forces between 2015 and 2018 during the peace negotiation with the FARC through which their disarmament and reintegration was achieved. He led a comprehensive transformation of the Armed Forces. Since 2011, he promoted the Strategic Review and Innovation Committees (CRE-I) to face threats such as terrorism and drug trafficking. Between 2019 and 2021, he was Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand. He holds a degree in Military Sciences and has received the Cross of Boyacá and the Order of Democracy on several occasions.
Juana
Acosta
Worked in the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace during the negotiations with the FARC on issues related to political participation and transitional justice (2012-2014). She has worked at the Presidential Council for Women, the Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs, and represented Colombia before the Inter-American Court. She was President of the Colombian Academy of International Law and a judge of the Tribunal for Peace. She is an associate professor at the Universidad de La Sabana, Director of the Public Interest Law Clinic, and co-president of the Colombian chapter of the International Society of Public Law, Icon-S. She has a Master's and Doctorate in Law and Human Rights.
Retired Colonel
Vicente Sarmiento
As an officer of the National Army, he advised the peace processes between the Colombian Government and FARC and ELN, participating in the Sub-commissions for the end of the conflict. Currently, Officer in retirement, with 12 years of experience in peace building, negotiation, ceasefire and verification mechanisms. He has worked in social dialogue with communities, security guarantees, human rights and defense analysis in territorial contexts. Former Military Attaché in Belgium and representative to NATO. Master’s in international Humanitarian Law and Strategic Intelligence.
Barney
Afako
He advised on issues related to the comprehensive justice arrangement in the peace process between the Colombian government and the FARC, contributing with his experience and an international perspective. He has worked on human rights, refugee law and criminal justice in several countries. He was a senior legal advisor to the Juba peace talks between Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army, where he drafted the Final Peace Agreement. He is the author of several publications and a regular commentator on justice and politics in Africa. A Ugandan lawyer with extensive experience in conflict mediation.
Board
of Directors
Sergio
Jaramillo
As High Commissioner for Peace of Colombia (2012-2017), and previously as National Security Advisor (2010-2012) he designed and led the secret negotiations with the FARC-EP and subsequently, together with Humberto de la Calle, the public phase of the negotiations, which concluded with the Final Agreement of November 2024. He was also responsible for supervising on behalf of the National Government the process of disarmament and transition to legality of the FARC-EP. He then served as Colombia's ambassador to the European Union and Belgium (2017-2018) and currently advises negotiation processes in different parts of the world. He was also Vice-Minister of Defense for Policy and International Affairs (2006-2009), where he supervised security and human rights policies, director of the Ideas for Peace Foundation (2004-2006) and advisor to the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs (2000-2003).
Pablo de
Greiff
First UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence from 2012 to May 2018. In 2015, he joined UNIIB, a mission of Independent Experts on Burundi. He was academic director of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) between 2001 and 2012. Currently, he is a senior researcher and director of the Transitional Justice Program at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University. A native of Colombia, he is a graduate of Yale (BA) and Northwestern (PhD), a former Laurance S. Rockefeller Fellow at Princeton University's Center for Human Values, and an associate professor at the State University of New York. He is the author and editor of ten books on democracy, ethics and politics.
Priscila
Heyner
She has addressed the challenges of justice in peace negotiations in countries such as Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Colombia, Kenya and Sudan, as well as designing mediation processes. She was a member of the standby team of senior mediation advisors at the UN until 2023 and co-founded the International Center for Transitional Justice, where she served until 2010. He has published two outstanding books, Unspeakable Truths and The Peacemaker's Paradox, recognized for their contribution to the field of transitional justice.
John Paul
Lederach
Expert in conflict transformation, with experience in conciliation in Colombia, the Philippines, Nepal and several African nations. He has designed and implemented training programs in 25 countries on five continents. Since August 2013, he has directed the Kroc Institute's peace agreements matrix, which provides data on agreements signed since 1989. Author of 22 books, highlights include When Blood and Bones Cry Out (2010) and The Moral Imagination (2005). PhD in sociology from the University of Colorado (1988).
Leyner
Palacios
Survivor of the 2002 Bojayá massacre, where 119 people died after a confrontation between FARC and paramilitaries, he lost 33 family members, including his parents and three siblings. He co-founded the Committee for the Rights of the Victims of Bojayá, which represents 11,000 affected people, uniting the voices of Afro-Colombians and indigenous Emberas nationwide. As a human rights activist, he promoted the inclusion of women in community assemblies and represented victims in peace negotiations, getting the FARC to recognize their responsibility and ask for forgiveness. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 and a commissioner in the Truth Commission.
Maria Fernanda
Suarez
She was Colombia's Minister of Mines and Energy between 2018 and 2020, where she designed the energy transition plan and a program to bring electricity to half a million Colombians. She has more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors. She also led the strategy for unconventional reservoirs, establishing long-term energy diversification. Previously, she was executive director of Finance and Strategy at Ecopetrol, making the company more efficient. She was an advisor to the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace in 2012 driving issues related to early implementation of agreements. She has held positions at the Ministry of Finance, Citibank, and Bank of America. She is a member of several boards of directors and currently chairs Banco Popular in Colombia.
International
Advisory Board
Jeffrey
Feltman
He served as UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs (2012-2018), Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (2009-2012) and Ambassador to Lebanon (2004-2008). U.S. foreign service officer for more than 26 years, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. At the UN, he served as undersecretary general for political affairs, advising Ban Ki-Moon and António Guterres, and reporting to the Security Council on peace, security and terrorism issues. He also led the implementation of Resolution 1559. From 2021 to 2022, he was special envoy for the Horn of Africa.
Eamon
Gilmore
He was EU Special Envoy for the Peace Process in Colombia (2015-2024). European Union diplomat and former Irish Labour Party politician. In 2019 he was appointed EU Special Representative for Human Rights. Previously, he was Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland (2011-2014) and chaired the OSCE (2012-2013). He was leader of the Labour Party (2007-2014) and a member of parliament (1989-2016). Born in Galway, he graduated from University College Galway and had a trade union career before entering politics.
Dag
Nylander
He has held several diplomatic positions, notably as mediator and special envoy to Colombia, leading the Norwegian facilitation of the peace process between the Colombian government and FARC from 2010 to 2016. He is currently the Director of NOREF and previously served as Director of the Peace and Reconciliation Section at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This role built on his previous tenure as head of the Norwegian embassy in Bogota from 2006 to 2008. In 2017, he became the UN Secretary General's personal representative for the Venezuela-Guyana border dispute. He holds a law degree and has worked as a lawyer and assistant judge.
Susan
Reichle
President and CEO of IYF, a global organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering young people to transform their lives. Since her appointment in 2019, she has revitalized the organization, implementing a new plan. Prior to IYF, Reichle was a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and an advisor to USAID, where she led global development policy. She also served as mission director in Colombia and worked in Haiti, Nicaragua and Russia. She was deputy coordinator at the State Department. Distinguished graduate of the National War College.
James
Robinson
Rev. Dr. Richard L. Pearson of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago and Nobel Laureate in Economics 2024. He has conducted influential research on political and economic development, as well as the relationships between political power, institutions, and prosperity. His work addresses the causes of economic and political divergence, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. He is particularly interested in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and has conducted field studies in several countries. He has co-authored three books with Daron Acemoglu, most notably “Why Nations Fail”, which examines the reasons for countries' economic success and failure.
William
Ury
Originally an anthropologist, he co-founded the Harvard Law School Negotiation Program and co-wrote “Getting to Yes,” the best-selling book on negotiation, popularizing “win-win” agreements in various conflicts. During the Cold War, he was a consultant to the White House, helping to avoid nuclear war. He collaborated with Jimmy Carter in the creation of the International Negotiation Network and advised Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the negotiating team during the peace process with the FARC. Ury has taught negotiation globally and created the “Abraham Way” to foster communication in the Middle East.
Theresa
Whitfield
Recognized mediation expert and independent consultant. She has been director of the UN Policy and Mediation Division (2016-2022) and has worked on peace processes in Central America. She was also director of the Peace and Conflict Prevention Forum of the Social Science Research Council (2005-2008) and advisor to the president of the International Crisis Group (2015-2016). She is the author of several books on conflict resolution and holds degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London.
