Colombia

Colombia’s President Ivan Duque has defunded the Truth Commission, a key element of the country’s peace process, according to one of the commission members. The defunding is the latest in a long series of actions that are feared to undermine the peace process that was begun by Duque’s predecessor, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Juan Manuel Santos.

As President Ivan Duque appears to do everything in his power to undermine Colombia’s peace process, the negotiators that bartered the historic 2016 peace deal met again on Wednesday.

Two years after the signing of the historic peace agreement in Colombia and following a recent escalation of violence, the newly-appointed representative of the United Nations in the country, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that its people have established a “broad consensus” against further conflict, before highlighting key steps to stabilize the nation.

In the aftermath of the deadly bomb attack that killed 21 people in Bogota, the leadership of Colombia’s ELN rebels has slammed President Ivan Duque‘s decision to end peace talks. Since taking office last year, Duque has refused to continue the dialogues established by his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos and the ELN claims that ongoing attacks against the organization forced the guerrillas’ hand.

Colombia’s peace commissioner said Wednesday that the government is considering steps that would block the possibility of resuming peace talks with the country’s ELN guerrillas. Peace commissioner Miguel Ceballos told press in Bogota that the National Security Council would meet in a month and hinted that it could decide to suspend the group’s political status and effectively make peace talks illegal.

Colombia’s state officials assassinated at least 348 social leaders and human rights defenders between 1985 and 2016, the chief prosecutor said in a report on war crimes committed by the state.

Most of the murders were by illegal armed groups and drug gangs fighting over former Farc territories, UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a report. Mr Guterres urged Colombian President Ivan Duque, a vocal critic of the peace deal, to do more to protect ex-rebels.