Everyday human rights practices in the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article addresses the everyday human rights practices of Villa Gloria, a Black community located in the Colombian Caribbean. What do these practices consist of, what elements underlie them, and what implications do they have for the exercise of citizenship? Through interviews, timeline mapping workshops, and a review of different secondary sources, I argue that these practices contribute to the survival of a community that is anchored to its physical territory. These practices are critical if the community is to be included in the project of modern Colombia, that is, adapting to the changes brought by a new constitution in the 1990s and later to the project of post-conflict as a result of the peace dialogues between the state and the FARC-EP guerrilla between 2012 and 2016. Instead of policies of differentiation, Villa Gloria demands inclusion. To validate these arguments, I critique linear time and analyse three practices: the defence of territory, the search for recognition as ethnic people and as victims of the armed conflict, and peaceful resistance. These analyses provide empirical evidence to demonstrate the exercise of human rights by Black people on the margins of the nation-state.