By Jim Wyss

Ever since he was run off his farm a decade ago, Larino Nengarade has been scratching out a living selling beaded necklaces on a grimy sidewalk just a few blocks from the presidential palace.

Friday night, President Juan Manuel Santos ratified a sweeping program that would give Nengarade — and an estimated 4 million Colombians who have been victims of the country’s civil conflict — the right to seek reparations.

Santos has called The Victims and Land Restitution Law one of the most important initiatives of his fledgling administration and key to ending a half-century-long cycle of violence. “If I accomplish nothing else, this will have made my presidency worthwhile,” he said as U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon looked on as the guest of honor.

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