UN Envoy Urges Unity in Colombia's Peace Process Amidst Political Tensions

Progress and Challenges in Colombia's Peace Process

• 🕊️ The UN Special Representative for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, highlighted the historic peace agreement of 2016 as a comprehensive roadmap for addressing decades of violence.
• 🤝 Over 13,000 former FARC-EP combatants have begun their peaceful reintegration into society, with ongoing needs for land, housing, and security.
• 🗺️ State investments and reforms, including development programs with a territorial focus (PDET), have been initiated to transform rural Colombia and expand access to land.
• ⚖️ Significant progress has been made in transitional justice, with the Truth Commission's historic report, the search for the disappeared, and the establishment of the SJP for transitional justice.

Obstacles to Lasting Peace

• ⚠️ A limited presence of state institutions in various regions creates a vacuum where armed groups proliferate and illicit economies thrive, fueling violence and hampering development.
• 💔 Since 2016, 472 signatories of the Peace Agreement have been killed, underscoring the urgent need to step up their protection and ensure accountability.
• 🗳️ The country is entering an electoral period that could deepen political divisions, making it imperative to remove violence from politics, a core objective of the Peace Agreement.

Reaffirming Commitment and International Support

• 🇨🇴 Colombia's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauricio Jaramillo, reaffirmed society's firm support for the peace process and the commitment of state institutions to its implementation.
• 🌍 The concept of "Total Peace" extends beyond borders, with Colombia taking firm steps towards a future where peace is the rule, supported by the UN and the international community.
• 🛡️ A shift towards a more civilian and humane security approach is being pursued, moving away from the logic of an internal enemy.
• 🙏 The UN Special Representative expressed gratitude for the Security Council's consistent support, emphasizing its instrumental role in safeguarding the peace agreement and fostering trust.