Briefing the Security Council today (14 Jul) the Special Representative for the Secretary-General in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, said that while there are reasons for encouragement, “violence continues against communities, leaders and former combatants” and called for their security to be guaranteed through the Peace Agreement. Ruiz Massieu said, “it saddens me to have to inform you about the killing of four more former combatants since the Secretary-General´s report was published two weeks ago.” He told the Council that The UN Mission has registered the killing of 331 former combatants since the signing of the peace deal. Four were killed in the past two weeks alone, including Ronald Rojas, also known as Ramiro Durán, a prominent leader of ex-combatants who had advocated for reintegration and broader implementation of the agreement. Ruiz Massieu said former combatants’ security “must be guaranteed” and added that “a priority for any Peace Agreement must be to safeguard the lives of those who laid down their arms in good faith with the assurance that they would be protected.” Ruiz Massieu reported on recent political developments, including the election last month of President Gustavo Petro and Vice-President Francia Márquez, the first Afro-Colombian woman to hold the position. In her address to the Council, Colombia’s Vice-President Marta Lucía Ramírez said, “obviously, our government rejects any type of violence against the civilian population or ex-combatants. No democratic government can remain indifferent to civilians, military, police, or any citizen’s death. But let me say, the Colombian territory is large, the geography diverse and difficult. The presence in each square of our territory is just impossible. So, it’s unfair any interpretation that there is a deliberate absence in some parts of the territory.” At a later press encounter, Ruiz Massieu said, “there is a renewed commitment on the part of the new authorities, the president elect, the government elect, over the comprehensive implementation of the peace agreement. To implement the most transformative parts of the accord that on his agenda, such as rural reform, political reform, and also to seek spaces for dialogue to find a solution to the conflict with illegal armed groups that are still active in the country.” For his part, the Francisco President of Colombia’s Truth Commission, José de Roux Rengifo, said, “the commission is entirely convinced that drug trafficking damages Colombia tremendously, that drug trafficking is today the main cause for war in the country, and the main cause for suffering in our communities at all levels. And that it is at the heart of corruption in Colombia and at the heart of impunity in our country, given its extraordinary power.” The Truth Commission has published its final report after three years of work. Among the recommendations is an appeal for State bodies to guarantee full implementation of the Final Agreement. Commissioners heard testimony from more than 30,000 individuals and bodies from across the country and in 24 nations where Colombians have been exiled. They also read more than 1,000 reports from communities, traveled to places where massacres occurred, and heard from more than 50,000 people who were abducted, in addition to thousands of boys and girls forced into fighting. Secretary-General António Guterres met Wednesday, at UN headquarters, with Father de Roux along with fellow commissioners, to receive a copy of the recently issued Final Report of the Commission, a major milestone and achievement of the peace process. The Secretary-General congratulated the Truth Commission for its painstaking work over the past three years to examine, through a participatory and inclusive exercise, the complex causes and the painful consequences of Colombia’s armed conflict. The Secretary-General expressed the hope that the Colombian people and their leaders will take full advantage of the report as an instrument to better understand the past in order to secure a future of peace and reconciliation. He affirmed the full support of the United Nations to the efforts that will be undertaken by the follow-up committee established to disseminate the Commission’s findings and to advocate for the implementation of its recommendations.
