Colombia

Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels said on Thursday they are suspending participation in the coming cycle of peace talks with the government, planned for this month, but will attend an extraordinary meeting scheduled for Friday.

[…] Uribe faces bribery and procedural fraud charges.

Colombia has reached an “important juncture” in advancing peace after decades of war, but efforts to sustain the current momentum must be redoubled, the head of a UN mission in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday.

[…] The EMC - founded by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels who reject the 2016 peace deal signed by that group - began talks with President Gustavo Petro's government last year, in a bid to end its part in Colombia's 60 years of war.

Colombia’s leftist ELN rebels pulled out of peace talks with the government on Tuesday, accusing it of violating ground rules set up when the negotiations began in 2022.

Colombia’s government and former FARC commander “Ivan Marquez” of guerrilla group “Segundo Marquetalia” announced formal peace talks. … Marquez and Patiño also said they would ask the United Nations, and the governments of Cuba, Norway and Venezuela to accompany the process.

The Colombian government and fighters with the National Liberation Army rebel group have agreed to extend their current cease-fire for another six months while they negotiate a peace deal.

Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest remaining rebel group announced Monday they will extend their current cease-fire by one week, while delegates from both sides who are meeting in Cuba continue to discuss policies that could secure a longer lasting truce.

Recent developments in Colombia have highlighted the need to move forward in implementing the 2016 peace agreement signed by the Government and the FARC-EP militia group, UN Special Representative Carlos Ruiz Massieu told the Security Council on Thursday. 

Deadly violence targeting Colombia’s human rights defenders and community leaders maintained in 2023, according to data by think tank Indepaz. According to the non-governmental organization, 188 social leaders were assassinated last year. This is virtually the same number as was registered in 2022 when 187 leaders were assassinated, according to Indepaz.