News & Events

The Irish Centre for Human Rights is pleased to announce the appointment of Oscar Parra Vera, Magistrate of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz – JEP), the judicial mechanism created as part of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP. In this capacity, he plays a central role in one of the most innovative transitional justice processes in the world, addressing crimes committed during Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict through a model that combines accountability, restorative justice, and victims’ rights.

Before joining the JEP, Oscar Parra-Vera previously served as Senior Legal Officer at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and as a fellow and consultant to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He has been a guest expert for the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Human Rights Council, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He has also held academic positions and has published extensively on human rights adjudication, transitional justice, and the role of courts in addressing mass atrocities.

This appointment further strengthens the Irish Centre for Human Rights’ engagement with and support for transitional justice initiatives and peace efforts and will offer students unique opportunities to learn directly from a leading practitioner involved in implementing one of the most significant peace and justice processes of the twenty-first century.

The Irish Centre for Human Rights warmly welcomes Judge Parra Vera to this new role and looks forward to ongoing collaboration in promoting research, teaching, and public dialogue on human rights and transitional justice.

“I am deeply grateful for this appointment, which is a great honour for me. More than eight years of work have now been completed at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, during which various contributions have been made from the Colombian case to the field of transitional justice. I look forward to fostering diverse dialogues at the Centre, with professors and students, about these ongoing developments, which are very important steps towards peacebuilding in Colombia”.

Oscar Parra Vera