Kolumbien

Five years after its signing, the Final Peace Agreement in Colombia is setting down ever deeper roots, the Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Thursday, as he called on the Government, political parties, former combatants and Colombians across the diverse South American nation, to intensify implementation of the landmark 2016 accord ahead of Congressional elections.

Colombia reported the deaths of at least 145 community leaders and rights defenders last year, as fighting by armed gangs fuelled further violence.

The former Colombian senator, Ingrid Betancourt, has announced she will run for president again, 20 years after being kidnapped by left-wing rebels.

At least 145 community leaders and rights activists were killed in 2021 in Colombia, the country’s human rights ombudsman has said. The 2021 death toll, which came amid a year defined by protests and government crackdowns, was lower than in 2020, when 182 killings were registered, … .

At least 23 people were killed in Colombia this weekend, and 20 had to flee their homes as fighting between rebel groups intensified in the eastern state of Arauca, Colombia's defense minister said Monday.

The United Nations’ human rights office in Colombia called for urgent and far-reaching reforms to prevent human rights violations in response to protests. In the report, the office of UN human rights chief Juliette Riveros confirmed reports that mainly the police committed widespread human rights abuses during anti-government protests earlier this year.

Colombia must urgently reform how it polices protests in the wake of demonstrations earlier this year in which several people were killed or injured, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Wednesday.  

Colombia’s 2016 peace deal was a landmark achievement, convincing the FARC guerrillas to disarm and enter civilian life. Yet much remains to be done to show insurgents that they can redress their grievances through ordinary politics. The country’s leaders should recommit to finishing the job.

The Biden administration has removed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia from the State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations in an effort to support the country’s peace process five years after the end of its decades-long conflict, officials said Tuesday.

[…] Yet, despite the solid progress, the Secretary-General cautioned that all sides “must be clear about the risks” that may threaten the long-term sustainability of the agreement.