Research project

Decolonising research methods: A linguistic journey in Nasa Yuwe

This project has received funding via the EUI ESR call 2022, dedicated to Early Stage Researchers.

After more than 56 years of internal armed conflict, Colombia became the first country to recognize a non-human entity, a territory, as a victim of the internal armed conflict. Through ethnolinguistic workshops conducted with the Nasa indigenous people in Colombia, this project seeks to analyze their cultural understanding of this concept of territory as a victim and how it could inform legal concepts.

In other words : the strategic use of Nasa Indigenous language in legal settings

In the proceedings before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP or JEP in Spanish), Nasa authorities and lawyers, most of whom are fluent in Spanish, have been purposely using linguistic constructions in Nasa Yuwe, their native language. This article explores the purpose behind this linguistic practice and its potential implication for the JEP and international law.