When it comes to making change and doing something about a nagging issue, we tend to think of a famous saying. “Keep moving forward.” In order to better ourselves, our country, and even our world, as a people we must keep moving forward. We must keep making strides in the right direction. Sometimes those strides may not be the way we intend, but that is okay as that is only part of the process. Make mistakes, learn from them, become smarter, and move forward. Although it might sound crazy, this can also be applied to moving socio-economic rights forward in the country of Colombia, or any country for that matter. Over the past few decades, Colombia, China, and a number of other developing countries, have realized that they need to step up their game to protect their people. Large, powerful corporations come into these nations and communities and take advantage of hard-working people who need jobs no matter what the cost. Long hours, low pay, and poor working conditions are only a few examples of how these corporations can treat these people. Nations are realizing what is happening and they are now learning from it. They are looking to other countries to see how they are handling the situation, learning from them. All the meanwhile, they are making strides toward where they want to be, and they are still moving forward. The best part about moving forward is that there are no boundaries, limitations, or certain ways to go about it. Moving forward can mean implementing new measures or writing a new agreement, such as Colombia, or writing and enforcing new laws. In fact, moving forward could simply mean enforcing old laws that were created in order to move the country forward but were left behind, forgotten about, or simply not cared about by most. For example, the Final Agreement to end the Armed Conflict and Build a Stable and Lasting Peace that ended armed conflict in Colombia comes to mind. In this Agreement it is stated that the nation of Colombia is “committed to the realization of victim’s rights and the process of transnational justice.” This includes the prevention of repeat offences and offenders when it comes to socio-economic and human rights violations. Colombia realized they weren’t doing enough, they wanted to do more, and they made it happen. They moved forward. Although it has not been easy, especially since Colombia was a country that featured conflict for so long, they have successfully made necessary changes to their country to make things right. They want to make improvements to the lives of their people and it shows through their actions. The country is not perfect, and it never will be. No country will ever be perfect. However, they are doing their best to move towards the future with the actions that they have been taking. More action needs to be taken in the future to keep moving forward, but they are on the right path as a nation and government.
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