Colombia Cuts 2027 JEP Budget by 181.402 Million Pesos, says Semana
Congress Approves Budget with Cuts to JEP Funding
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace reached the end of the 2027 General Budget discussions with a funding reduction of 181.402 million pesos, semana.com reported. The budget vote marked the first major legislative victory for President Abelardo de la Espriella, with the Congress approving a total budget of 634.9 billion pesos.
In the Chamber of Representatives, the budget passed with 112 votes in favor and one against. The Senate approved the measure with 57 votes in favor and one against. The ruling majority brought together the Centro Democrático, the Liberal and Conservative parties, Cambio Radical, La U, and Salvación Nacional, alongside support from the Green Alliance and Citrep representatives.
Two Legislative Cuts Target Tribunal Operations and Investment
The budget reduction occurred in two separate legislative moments. Salvación Nacional promoted the first adjustment of 170.000 million pesos, which split into 140.000 million pesos from investment and 30.000 million pesos from operating expenses.
The Centro Democrático drove the second reduction of 11.402 million pesos. This specific amount was redirected to the Ministry of Defense to help pay outstanding indemnifications owed to the families of members of the Public Force killed by the Farc.
Senator Posada Questions Tribunal Contracting and Spending
Senadora María Clara Posada of the Centro Democrático presented figures indicating the tribunal received 3.8 billion pesos between 2020 and 2026, which would climb to 4.5 billion pesos if the 2027 requests had been met in full. Posada specifically questioned the involvement of the United Nations Development Programme in structuring the tribunal’s Executive Secretariat in 2017, claiming it led to the outsourcing of 201.467 million pesos between 2018 and 2026 under diplomatic immunity rules.
Additional scrutiny focused on administrative expenses. Posada stated that rent for the Bogotá headquarters cost 114.202 million pesos between 2020 and February 2026, comparing it to construction estimates from 2020 valued at 20.975 million pesos. Travel and logistics expenses totaling 56.435 million pesos over the same six-year period were also challenged as potential judicial tourism.
The tribunal defended its travel expenditures, stating that the funds covered mandatory missions across more than 330 municipalities, including victim hearings, exhumations, and witness accreditations. The entity maintained that only one percent of that amount went toward international travel, covering 61 international tickets worth 286 million pesos over eight years.
Tribunal Warns Funding Cuts Threaten Judicial Capacity
The tribunal warned that the funding cuts threaten its capacity to hold hearings, protect victims, and execute mandates, although the government insisted essential missions will continue.
Regarding other institutions, Iván Mauricio Lenis, president of the Supreme Court of Justice, stated that the Special Jurisdiction for Peace must finish its designated period and deliver its pending results, emphasizing that the transitional justice mechanism exists solely to investigate armed conflict violations before regular courts resume full jurisdiction.