Kolumbien

The agreement between the Colombian Government and the five largest remaining armed groups there provides “renewed hope for comprehensive peace” into the new year, said the UN chief in a statement released by his Spokesperson late on Sunday.

[…] Six years after the signing of the Final Agreement, crucial sections have been unevenly implemented, despite their potential to address the underlying causes of the conflict and redress historic inequalities.

Colombia’s illegal armed groups are increasingly moving their violence from the countryside to the country’s cities, according to a leading think tank on the armed conflict.

The Colombian government and National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels on Monday "successfully" completed a first round of peace talks in Caracas by agreeing to free prisoners, but without signing a cease fire, according to a joint statement.

Peace talks between Colombia's government and the ELN rebel group have reached a first point of agreement, the country's president has said. … Both sides have agreed that indigenous people displaced by the conflict should be guaranteed safe return to their lands in the province, he said.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said that “time for peace has arrived” as dignitaries from the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas started their ceasefire talks in Caracas Monday.

Colombia’s Congress on Wednesday approved a law to allow president Gustavo Petro to seek peace deals with leftist rebels and criminal groups tied to drug trafficking via negotiations and processes of surrender.

Colombia’s Congress approved a bill that allows President Gustavo Petro to negotiate the dismantling of illegal armed groups. The bill gives Petro congressional support for his ambitious “Total Peace” policy, which seeks to reduce violence caused by illegal armed groups and organized crime.

The resolution targets those supporting or financing violence, kidnapping, sexual violence, arms or drug sales, people trafficking and the recruitment of children into gangs. Those obstructing the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid can also be sanctioned. Haiti’s government supports the measures.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Thursday that the area growing coca in Colombia shot up 43 percent from 2020, to 204,000 hectares (500,000 acres) in 2021.