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RPR Peace Mail 2nd - 8 January

RPR Peace Mail 2nd - 8 January

This week's Peace Mail covers: the invitation to use the entities created by the Agreement to land peace; Bojaya´s community request for an international accompaniment; the IACHR call for a "Prompt and Serious" investigation into false positives buried in Dabeiba; the UN demand that the government protects former FARC combatants; and, the Business roundtable held with ex-guerrillas and executives from Meta.

Download Peace Mail /  2 - 8 January

Call to use the entities created by the Agreement to land peace. In a joint communiqué issued by President Duque, the head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia (UNVMC), Carlos Ruiz Massieu, and the High Councilor for Stabilization, Emilio Archila, President Duque reiterated his intention to extend the verification mission's mandate until the end of his term, in 2022. This mission oversees the implementation of two points of the peace agreement, namely, the reincorporation of former combatants into civilian life and the security guarantees. Ruiz Massieu highlighted the progress made in the implementation of the agreement. He also emphasized the importance of the productive projects developed outside of the reincorporation spaces and the progress made in the PDETS and in the area of transitional justice, in particular with respect to victims.1

Bojayá community asks for international accompaniment. The community of Bojayá (Chocó) alerted about the presence of a group of armed men in civilian clothes. Following the alert, local leaders received threatening calls in which some of the interlocutors introduced themselves as being members of the ELN, and asked for economic resources or ammunitions. In other cases, leaders were ordered to leave the community. Local organizations and other victims of Bojayá urgently requested an international commission to accompany them. "The armed actors have made clear that they do not respect civil society or the ethnic or civilian authorities of Colombia. We need an international presence inside communities“, the leader said. The confinement of the Pogue community continues.2

"Prompt and Serious": IACHR request for investigation into false positives buried in Dabeiba. On 14 December 2019, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) announced the discovery of what would be the first mass grave with over 50 bodies of false positives. Located in Dabeiba (Antioquia), the mass grave would contain the bodies of alleged victims of extrajudicial executions that occurred during the internal armed conflict. For the JEP, these bodies correspond to disappeared and executed people that were presented as combatants killed in combat. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights urged Colombia to continue the investigation in the framework of case 003. Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, President of the IACHR, stressed that in cases of extra-judicial executions or forced disappearances, “the State must carry on, without delay, an investigation, that is serious, impartial, and effective”.3

UN calls on government to protect former FARC combatants. According to a new UN Secretary-General report, 77 former FARC combatants were killed in 2019, bringing the total to 173 since the signature of the Peace Agreement in Colombia. The report reiterates the call on the Colombian government to protect the lives of social leaders, human rights defenders, and those involved in the implementation of the Peace Agreement -including special provisions for women leaders, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders-.The UN head recalled that while the Peace Accord envisaged a long-term transformation of Colombia, particularly in the areas devastated by the conflict, the foundations of that transformation should be built through concrete actions that include all actors. “The United Nations remains fully committed to that goal, working in partnership with the parties, Colombian society, and the international community," Guterres concluded.4

Business roundtable between ex-guerrillas and executives from Meta. Villavicencio held an exchange of experiences between Meta’s businessmen and people in process of reincorporation, who have developed cattle, agricultural and tourism projects. This meeting was organized with the support of the Agency for Reincorporation and standardization (ARN), UNVMC, UNDP and IOM. Around 32 business representatives learned about 15 productive projects in the department, that benefit more than 1,000 people in reincorporation process and local communities near the former Territorial Spaces for Training and Reincorporation. The new entrepreneurs had the opportunity to learn about current market trends, types of marketing strategies, and advantages of the digital market. It is hoped that other meetings will be held in order to strengthen the reincorporation process in the department of Meta.5