Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This research uses the case study of Colombia and more specifically the peace negotiations between the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP) to identify the influence that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) can have on a peacemaking process and what its humanitarian implications are.  By linking the humanitarian and peacemaking fields, the main objective of this research is to assess the extent to which IHL has influenced the peace negotiations with the FARC-EP. To conduct this study, desk research and interviews were conducted in order to find out all the subtle elements that were not documented in the literature.  The final aim of this research is to highlight how humanitarian obligations under IHL have become increasingly relevant in peacemaking processes and conflict resolution strategies, particularly in non-international armed conflicts. As found out through this case study on Colombia, IHL can help establishing trust through humanitarian confidence building measures reducing humanitarian crises caused by war. Finally, IHL can strengthen accountability and reparations during and after the peace process and provide a legal framework for consolidating peace agreements.

A half century long civil war was fought in Colombia during 1964 and 2016, during these years there have been numerous peace negotiations between the state and the leftist guerrilla FARC-EP. The two enemies had big ideological differences but despite this, they managed to strike a peace deal in the end. These negotiations can be connected with the theory of rationality, where each partner will act with a goal for maximum profitable purpose. This study will primarily focus on the FARC-EP ideological alteration and its rational behaviour during negotiations during 2012-2016 and that concluded with the peace deal signed in Cartagena, Colombia. This study will also give a perspective in how FARC-EP has acted post- the peace negotiations on its way with peace and reconciliation in mind. With the ideological aspect and rationality in remembrance this study will analyse the change of method that the FARC-EP went through, from a violent guerrilla towards a political party with its primary goal still in mind, of an equal marxist nation, and the participation in its first democratic election in 2018.