Author of case study: Marcela Torres Molano

Geopolitical location of space:
Various regions of Colombia

Extant?
Yes

Architect:
Architect unknown

Timeframe RJ/TJ process in this space:

Start date: 2012
End date: ongoing

Background information:

The Mobile Unit is a space for the initial stages of transitional justice. The unit is a space that provides services to different Colombian regions and territories such as information dissemination, legal orientation, receiving declarations of war crimes, and training and support of transitional justice processes.

Is restorative justice actually taking place in this space?

Yes, the unit has been deployed in the initial stages of transitional justice in Colombia. It allows for the gathering of testimonies in regions of difficult access and provides legal orientation to victims, enabling their integration into the transitional justice system. Encounters between victims and perpetrators living in remote areas can be organised in different community spaces such as the public spaces where the mobile unit is usually located.

Is this space designed/arranged for safe listening?

The unit is designed for mobility purposes. Spaces for individual consultation can take place inside the unit and in the outdoor extension adjacent to the unit. Meeting tables are placed outside the unit with enough distance between them to safeguard the privacy of the community members in attendance.

Who is the audience/the intended participants for this space?

General population of urban and rural towns lacking in spaces for the attention of victims and/or transitional justice centres.

How or to what extent is this space public?

The unit occupies public space when visiting a town. As such, it is accessible to all members of the community it visits.

Physical/factual description of space:

The Mobile Unit houses six office spaces and has a total area of 30 square metres when using the whole extension of the vehicle (this does not include the occupation of public space or the use of an inflatable structure in spaces adjacent to the parked unit). The space was designed to overcome geographic barriers and enable the decentralisation of transitional justice services. The main purpose of the space is to include victims from all regions of Colombia in an integrative and restorative justice process.

The unit includes work spaces inside the vehicle, as well as temporal tents and furniture to be located outdoors. The space can be arranged in different ways, adapted to different geographic environments and weather conditions. For instance, the tents are located away from the vehicle when the public space offers some protection from the elements, and they are located next to the vehicle when services are provided in a completely open or unprotected space.

Analytical description of space:

The Mobile Unit started working in 2012, and has visited numerous territories across Colombia. By 2020 it had provided services to more than 122.000 victims of the conflict, including populations belonging to constitutionally protected ethnic groups (Indigenous and Rom people, Raizal communities of the Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia, and Afro-Colombian and Palenquero communities).

Among other functions, the unit is a space that provides information and legal guidance on the mechanisms of transitional justice, as well as training for individuals and public servants in truth telling, reparation, and non-repetition mechanisms. The training sessions include instruction on how to protect and participate in transitional justice processes, and briefing on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and the Colombian Truth Commission reports.

The Mobile Unit serves to decentralise services from the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the Truth Commission, and the Unit for the Search for Persons Presumed Disappeared (UBPD). Its customised mobile spaces allow communities from different regions, races, socio-economic classes, and backgrounds to access transitional justice services.