The Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) has warned that 70% of the assassinations of political and social leaders since October 2018 have occurred in the municipalities where the Development Programs with Territorial Approach (PDET) are being implemented.    It raised concerns for the violence that pre-candidates of local elections are already facing six months before the 27 October elections, which will mark the first time that candidates of the FARC political party run at the local level. The MOE cited four critical regions: northern Cauca, Catatumbo, southern Cordoba, and northern Chocó.  The Timely Action Plan, created by the GOC to protect social leaders, yet widely criticized for its military focus, is expected to be overstretched in its protection efforts during the election period.¹

The JEP has requested an arrest warrant of Hernán Velásquez Saldarriaga, alias El Paisa, for failing to comply with his obligations to present his participation in the armed conflict and to face the victims at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).  Initially an exemplary participant of the Miravalle Territorial Space for Training and Reincorporation (ETCR) who supported the creation of economic projects, he has now spent eight months in hiding for alleged security reasons.  With this decision, the former commander will now be subject to the ordinary justice system, setting a precedence for other leaders such as Iván Márquez and Henry Garzón who are both in hiding, and increasing mistrust of the former FARC members in the Peace Process.²  

In other news related to the JEP, the Senate is expected to vote on President Duque’s six objections to the Statutory Law of the transitional justice mechanism on 30 April.  The House of Representatives rejected the objections earlier this month.³

Agroecological and experiential tourism will be among the productive projects promoted in the two ETCRs located in the department of Guaviare, as confirmed by the visit of the Inter-Institutional Roundtable on Peace Tourism, Reconciliation and Territorial Development. The project will highlight the importance of environmental sustainability through responsible tourism.⁴

A national strike was called for 25 April by the Unitary Center of Colombian Workers, the Colombian Federation of Education Workers, and university students to reject the National Development Plan.⁵  Among other labor issues, protesters rejected the murders of and threats to social leaders, a claim supported by the indigenous and rural organizations of the Minga social protest.  The strike aligned with the main demands of the Minga related to implementation of the Peace Accord, guarantee of fundamental rights, restitution of land, care of the environment and recognition of autonomy.⁶

Thousands of social leaders and human rights defenders from across the country installed a “humanitarian shelter for life” in Bogota on 28 April. The initiative calls on the government to guarantee the right to peaceful social protest in accordance with international human rights standards, particularly in the areas most affected by the armed conflict.⁷