This article re-conceptualises genocide on indigenous peoples by disentangling its cultural dimensions. Extractive and similar operations gradually deteriorate lands and environment, exerting severe impacts on territorial rights, eventually on their physical and cultural annihilation. The article approaches the crime of genocide in both its physical and cultural dimensions, demanding its integration into IHRL and criminal law. Recent ethnographic research in Bolivia and Colombia demonstrates how indigenous peoples are gradually exposed to genocidal policies despite strong legal frameworks. Such rights materialise in the form of prior consultation, land rights, prohibition of forced relocation and maintaining of organisational and decisionmaking procedures.

This article displays the idea of indigenizing international law by recognizing indigenous law as law. It is by directing indigenous jurisprudences to the framework of international law that the possibility of transforming its roots becomes possible—I call this process inverse legal anthropology. In indigenizing international law using an inverse legal anthropology, the article presents a case study on the ongoing genocide of Colombian indigenous peoples in the age of the global ecology of the Anthropocene. In this context, I explain the political consequences of valuing indigenous cosmologies regarding their territories. Indeed, mainstream representations of indigenous territories, taking into consideration the topographic and biologic dimensions of the earth’s surface, have forgotten the pluriverse of organic and inorganic beings that make and negotiate their social living together with indigenous peoples’ ecological and spiritual relations.

This article analyses the complexities of the double bind between colonial domination and Indigenous resistance in conversation with anarchist sociologist Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui. The functioning of the double bind appears in the article at three levels: first, by exploring the encounter between Western and Indigenous jurisdictions in the context of colonial meetings and across imperial networks; second, by analyzing the way in which Rivera develops an epistemological program based on daily life practices; and, third, by showing one example in which Rivera develops a double bind epistemological framework in order to read the colonial encounter between Western and Indigenous jurisdictions in the Americas in the sixteenth century. The interaction with Rivera allowed me to better understand the complexities of an Andean world that operates through the double bind of being Indigenous and non-Indigenous at the same time; while on the other, it enabled me to test out the academic tradition that depicts history, in particular the history of the international legal order, in a linear and progressive trajectory. With this approximation at hand, I analyze the relationship between past, present, and future within the social life of Andean Indigenous communities.

In Birth Rights and Wrongs (2019), Dov Fox points out that torts law is in principle capable of changing through court decision making, and that it has in the past been bold enough to measure harms that seemed unmeasurable at first glance. Fox notes that despite torts malleability, courts have been reluctant to grant sufficient relief to patients that have been harmed by practitioner’s negligence in the realm of reproductive negligence -the “freezer malfunction” cases. He notes that “conventional harms miss real and serious losses to people who end up without the child they’d give anything to have” (Fox, 23). This paper (i) examines the position of three feminist legal theories on what it would mean to claim damages for being unable to conceive due to practitioner’s negligence and (ii) analyzes the weight that courts have given to pregnancy while establishing whether compensation is due. The conclusion (iii) compares the posture of the courts with the examined theories on the matter and examines the way in which ‘new’ families are being excluded from redress. En Birth Rights and Wrongs (2019), Dov Fox señala que la ley de daños en EEUU es, en principio, capaz de mutar a través de la toma de decisiones de las cortes, y que en el pasado los jueces han sido lo suficientemente audaces como para medir daños que parecían inconmensurables a primera vista. Fox señala que, a pesar de la maleabilidad de los daños, las cortes se han mostrado reacias a otorgar un alivio suficiente a los pacientes que han sido perjudicados por la negligencia del médico en el ámbito de la negligencia reproductiva, los casos de "mal funcionamiento del congelador" –denominados así por los casos en los que el material reproductivo congelado se daña, se pierde, o se estropea. Fox señala que "los daños convencionales pasan por alto pérdidas reales y graves para las personas que terminan sin el hijo que darían cualquier cosa por tener" (Fox, 23). Este artículo (i) examina la posición de tres teorías legales feministas sobre lo que significaría reclamar daños y perjuicios por no poder concebir debido a la negligencia del médico y (ii) analiza el peso que los tribunales le han dado al embarazo al establecer si se debe indemnizar. La conclusión (iii) compara la postura de los tribunales con las teorías examinadas sobre el asunto y examina la forma en que las "nuevas" familias están siendo excluidas de la reparación.

If justice in Colombia has stepped toward transitional justice, a framework mainly focused on providing redress to the victims of war, why have animals been excluded from it? As a response to animal cruelty, in war and outside of it, a punitive response remains. In a transitional justice regime, moving away from strictly anthropocentric solutions could bring reconciliation that transcends the criminal/innocent, city/jungle, and human/nature artificial dichotomies. Si la justicia en Colombia ha dado un paso hacia la justicia transicional, un marco enfocado principalmente en brindar reparación a las víctimas de la guerra, ¿por qué se ha excluido a los animales? La respuesta estatal a la crueldad animal, en la guerra y fuera de ella, sigue siendo punitiva. En un régimen de justicia transicional, alejarse de soluciones estrictamente antropocéntricas podría traer una reconciliación que trascienda las dicotomías artificiales entre criminal/inocente, ciudad/jungla y humano/naturaleza. Distinción Harvard Law School Writing Prize, 2020.

The Colombian reintegration programme for the demobilised of armed groups is assessed after fifteen years in action. The impact evaluation estimates the impact of the time of exposure to the programme on the welfare of the demobilised. In particular, the assessment evaluates the intention-to-treat (ITT) of the programme’s benefits and the economic stimuli for education and entrepreneurship. This research evaluates the hypothesis that the programme significantly improves the welfare of ex-combatants in the dimensions of health, education, employment, income and mental health. For this, the methodology uses OLS regressions, linear probability models, logit models and secondary data. Results only show a positive and significant impact for outcomes related to health, education and employment. Other impacts are not discarded, but to confirm them, the sample must be expanded and more detailed data should be collected. Having a theory of change for the programme and coordinating the monitoring process with the evaluation design is recommended in order to obtain more rigorous evidence. El Programa de Reintegración colombiano para desmovilizados de grupos armados es evaluado luego de quince años de implementación. La evaluación de impacto estima el impacto del tiempo de exposición al programa sobre el bienestar de los desmovilizados. En particular, la evaluación evalúa el intention-to-treat (ITT) sobre los beneficios del programa y los estímulos económicos para la educación y el emprendimiento. Esta investigación evalúa la hipótesis de que el programa mejora significativamente el bienestar de los excombatientes en las dimensiones de salud, educación, empleo, ingresos y salud mental. Para ello, la metodología utiliza regresiones OLS, modelos de probabilidad lineal, modelos logit y datos secundarios. Los resultados sólo muestran un impacto positivo y significativo para los resultados relacionados con la salud, la educación y el empleo. No se descartan otros impactos, pero para confirmarlos es necesario ampliar la muestra y recopilar datos más detallados. Se recomienda contar con una teoría de cambio para el programa y coordinar el proceso de seguimiento con el diseño de la evaluación para obtener evidencia más rigurosa. Distinction Dissertation, Department of International Development, University of East Anglia

Colombia is an upper middle-income country with an estimated population of 49.2 million people, and road traffic collisions (RTCs) are the second most common cause of traumatic death. The government established the National Road Safety Plan (PNSV) for the period 2011-2021, to reduce RTC-related deaths by 26%. Study aim was to evaluate whether Road Safety Laws have had a long-term effect on road safety in the country. Data on RTC from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2017 were collated from official Colombian governmental publications. Three periods were considered for analysis: 2001-2010 evaluating the Transit Code; 2011-2017 evaluating the PNSV; and 2001-2017 evaluating the full study period. A total of 102,723 deaths (12.7%) and 707,778 injuries (87.3%) were reported from 2001 through 2017. Transit Code period showed a 10.1% decline in deaths, 16.6% decline in injuries, and rates per 100,000 inhabitants and per 10,000 registered vehicles also declined. During the PNSV period, there was an increase in deaths by 16.6%, injuries decreased by 1.7%, and death rates per 100,000 inhabitants also increased. During the total study period, a 12.4% reduction in the total number of casualties was achieved, and death and injury rates per 100,000 inhabitants decreased by 12.4% and 27.5%, respectively. Overall, the absolute number of RTCs and deaths has increased. RTCs rates per 10,000 registered vehicles has decreased. Although the goals of the PNSV may not be realized, some laws may be having a beneficial effect. Further study is required to determine the longer-term impact of these initiatives.

The signing of the Peace Agreement in Colombia has shown a polarization of society, partly caused by mass media role in the creation of an accepted general consciousness. In this post-conflict period, it is necessary to understand the discourse meaning of audiovisual productions, which are consumed by the popular culture, and if they align with the peace process vision. The research is based on a critical discourse analysis focused on four audiovisual formats. In most cases, these analyzed productions do not promote social changes related to peace culture. La firma del Acuerdo de paz en Colombia evidenció una polarización de su sociedad, en parte, generada por el papel de los medios masivos en la creación de imaginarios colectivos. En estos tiempos de posconflicto, se precisa entender el significado del discurso de las producciones audiovisuales que consume la cultura popular, y si se alinean con la visión del proceso de paz. La investigación se fundamenta en un análisis crítico del discurso centrada en el estudio de cuatro formatos. De forma mayoritaria, ninguna de las obras analizadas fomenta cambios sociales que favorezcan la cultura de paz.

The digital era brings us the possibility to design complex geometries but the prioritization of form has relegated material properties and environmental impact. The result is heavy machining, excessive manual labor and intricate scaffolding on the construction site.Therefore, this thesis proposes a design based on intrinsic material properties and material programming to create self-constructing architectural building components. By combining hygroscopic properties of self-shaping wood actuators with the tunability of 3D printing, the functionality of each element can be extended. The resulting components can be fabricated and assembled flat and then dry to self-shape on site into their pre-programmed geometry, which then is locked once the final state is reached. The focus of this research therefore was the development of a custom design to fabrication workflow to achieve this goal. Based on a set of parameters extracted from physical fundamental tests, rules for the pattern design and actuator configuration were established. A finite element behavior simulation tailored to self-shaping hybrids was used to evaluate the success in approximating the intended geometry. From that a digital fabrication workflow was devised and the framework was tested through the production of physical prototypes at small and large scale. The presented research and prototypes show how self-shaping hybrids could be used as an alternative in the fabrication and construction of double curved components, reducing wasteful and laborious processes. La era digital nos brinda la posibilidad de diseñar geometrías complejas pero la priorización de la forma ha relegado las propiedades materiales y el impacto ambiental. El resultado es intensivo mecanizado excesivo trabajo manual y un intrincado andamiaje en las obras de contrucción. Por lo tanto, esta tesis propone un diseño basado en las propiedades intrínsecas de los materiales y la programación de los materiales para crear componentes de construcción arquitectónicos autoconstruidos. Combinando las propiedades higroscópicas de los actuadores de madera autoconstruidos con la presición de la impresión en 3D, se puede ampliar la funcionalidad de cada elemento. Los componentes resultantes pueden fabricarse y ensamblarse en plano y luego secarse para autoformarse en el sitio en su geometría preprogramada, que luego se bloquea una vez que se alcanza el estado final. Por lo tanto, el foco de esta investigación fue el desarrollo de un flujo de trabajo de diseño a fabricación personalizado para lograr este objetivo. Basándose en un conjunto de parámetros extraídos de pruebas físicas fundamentales, se establecieron las reglas para el diseño del patrón y la configuración del actuador. Se utilizó una simulación del comportamiento de los elementos finitos adaptada a los híbridos autoformados para evaluar el éxito en la aproximación a la geometría prevista. A partir de ahí se ideó un flujo de trabajo de fabricación digital y se probó el marco mediante la producción de prototipos físicos a pequeña y gran escala. La investigación y los prototipos presentados muestran cómo los híbridos autoconformados podrían utilizarse como una alternativa en la fabricación y construcción de componentes de doble curvatura, reduciendo los procesos laboriosos y dispendiosos.

‘Quenari Wii Tourism Lab’ is a project that aims to redefine the role of Quenari Wii, a bed & breakfast located in the remote town of Mitú, Colombia. The discussion is centred on the need of promoting collaboration between local stakeholders to make the destination attractive, contribute to the creation of a tourism cluster in which more people are benefited and to use tourism as an engine of development in the region. What started as a project to make the Hotel a protagonist of the tourist’s experience, soon shifted to a project that seeks to collaborate with diverse cultural initiatives to design, test and implement authentic experiences for Quenari Wii’s guests. It is expected that by working with more stakeholders in Mitú and nurturing the agreements that have been built over time, the visitors will perceive a higher value in the region and Quenari Wii. The design methodologies, the analysed case studies, and tools employed on each stage of the project to make the service accessible, effective, and attractive will be presented and analysed, together with relevant bibliography on service design and tourism. The entire iterative process and prototypes realised with a group of traditional dances from Mitú, will be clarified to analyse the evolution of the final concept – A lab within the hotel to design, test and implement unique tourism experiences for the hotel’s guests –. To conclude, the project also delves into the question of how this new service is an opportunity to develop a tourism culture in the region and to train professionals in this field, who will be ready for the challenges that tourism brings to Mitú.