Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday defended the constitutionality of a law that paved the way for ongoing peace talks with Marxist rebels, as legal challenges risk undermining efforts to end five decades of war, Reuters reported. The so-called Legal Framework for Peace, approved in Congress last year, modified the constitution and laid the foundation for punishment of war crimes, reparations for victims and eventual peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The reform has been harshly criticized by the opposition and human rights groups as an inadequate law that offers a "backdoor amnesty" for horrific war crimes and may force victims to turn to the international courts for redress. Gustavo Gallon, a lawyer with the Colombian Commission of Jurists, filed a legal challenge to three phrases in the text of the law that he says would allow lawmakers to select which cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes could be investigated and punished, leading to impunity for many. -- SPA 23:16 LOCAL TIME 20:16 GMT تغريد
