UN envoy hails peace dividends in Colombia, warns against violence

Carlos Ruiz Massieu (Front), the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, speaks at a Security Council meeting on the situation in Colombia, at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12, 2022. The top UN envoy for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, on Tuesday hailed peace dividends in Colombia and warned against violence as a major threat to the peace process in the country. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, on Tuesday hailed peace dividends in Colombia and warned against violence as a major threat to the peace process in the country.

The current electoral cycle helps illustrate some of the dividends of peace. For the second time since the signing of a landmark peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), elections were mostly free of violence, he told the Security Council in a briefing.

There is no question that the successful laydown of arms of the former FARC combatants - verified by the United Nations - significantly reduced nationwide levels of conflict-related violence, said Massieu, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia.

Recent elections also saw an increase in the number of women candidates and women elected to Congress, even in the face of major challenges, including gender-based political violence, he said.

The recent congressional elections featured for the first time the opportunity for Colombians to elect representatives of 16 new electoral districts established under the peace agreement in conflict-affected regions. Despite a range of difficulties that constrained campaigning, Colombia's democracy will no doubt be enriched by the increased voice of victims in Congress. The United Nations stands ready to support their effective participation, he said.

Despite challenges, former members of FARC and members of the Comunes party, the political successor of the former rebel group, were able to campaign and vote in congressional elections for the second time since the signing of the peace agreement, he said.

Throughout the countryside and in many cities, those who laid down their arms are building productive new lives through a myriad of projects that also benefit communities and foster reconciliation. The vast majority of the more than 13,000 accredited former combatants remain engaged with the peace process, and almost two-thirds of all former FARC members are now taking part in collective and individual income-generating initiatives, said the UN envoy.

Progress is being made regarding key elements for the long-term success of reintegration, including most recently on the provision of land and housing, he said.

Nevertheless, the sustainability of the process is still contingent on additional efforts, including efforts to halt the violence that still jeopardizes former combatants' plans to build a new life, he said. "While I recognize the different measures in place, more can and must still be done to improve their security."

Violence is exacting a particularly high toll on indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in the form of killings, displacement and the increasing recruitment of minors. The continuation of such suffering in the very communities that were most victimized during decades of conflict calls urgently for the full implementation of the peace agreement, he said.

It is important to recall in this regard that the peace agreement was conceived as an interconnected set of mechanisms whose comprehensive implementation would not only end the conflict with FARC but address deep-rooted factors that continue today to underpin the dynamics of violence in many areas of the country, he said.

"The peace of Colombia is invaluable. It must continue to be built and protected in order to ensure its success - for the good of Colombia and for the example it offers to the world," said Massieu. "To continue advancing in this direction, it is essential that the parties, civil society and political actors recognize the progress made, and that they commit to making progress on the pending elements and to decisively face the challenges." 

Photo taken on April 12, 2022 shows a view of a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Colombia, at the UN headquarters in New York. The top UN envoy for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, on Tuesday hailed peace dividends in Colombia and warned against violence as a major threat to the peace process in the country. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)