The Security Council has agreed to the UN's continued monitoring of Colombia's peace process. In a referendum in early October, voters rejected a hard-fought peace deal with guerrillas.
Image: Picture-Alliance/AP Photo/F. Vergara
Advertisement
The Security Council agreed to continue the UN's monitoring of the government's ceasefire with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after a failed referendum to make the hard-fought truce permanent. Last week, President Juan Manuel Santos and the rebels extended the ceasefire until December 31.
The council "welcomed the parties' continued commitment to uphold the ceasefire," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Tuesday. He added that the council received a request from the parties "for the UN mission to monitor and verify the bilateral ceasefire" and that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would present recommendations on that mechanism. Members "encourage the parties and all political actors to continue momentum in the peace effort," said Churkin, who holds the Security Council's presidency this month.
The stunningly narrow "No" vote by a relatively small number of voters on October 2 set back a nearly four-year effort to end Latin America's last major guerrilla war. Santos, whowon the Nobel Peace Prize this month for staking his legacy to ending Colombia's five decades of conflict, launched negotiations with the FARC after taking office in 2010. The two sides sealed their deal on August 24 in Havana, Cuba, providing hope for an end to a conflict that has claimed nearly 220,000 lives.
'A lasting peace'
Representatives from the Security Council's 15 countries consulted with Jean Arnault, the UN chief of mission in Colombia, who asked that the agency continue to verify the bilateral ceasefire. Several ambassadors also signaled their desires to see the ceasefire continue and made clear that they wanted to the United Nations to help ensure it.
"The idea is continuity," France's Francois Delattre said. Despite the result of the referendum, the United Nations, FARC and Colombia's government could work together "to put an end to the war and create the conditions of a lasting peace," he added.
The members of the Security Council did not consider it necessary to adopt a new resolution following voters' rejection of the peace deal. Delattre said the texts already approved had "everything necessary to work and continue the support expressed by the Security Council."
Uruguayan Ambassador Elbio Rosselli also said continuity was the goal and that his country stood "enthusiastically with the commitment of the government and FARC to maintain the ceasefire and ensure that all remain well."
Latin America's longest armed conflict comes to an end
The Colombian government has reached a historic truce with FARC, ending over half a century of violence with the leftist group. Latin America's longest conflict claimed at least 220,000 lives.
Image: Reuters/A. Meneghini
How the insurgency started
In 1948, the assassination of populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan sparked political chaos in Colombia known as "the violence." Tens of thousands died and peasant groups joined with communists to arm themselves. Later in 1964, a military attack on the insurgency's main encampment led to the creation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
What the rebels wanted
FARC's political ideology has never been well defined. Initially, it sought to weaken the oligarchy's grip on power. The rebels also wanted land reforms in a country where more than 5 million people have been forcibly displaced, mostly by far-right militias. However, the group lost popularity as it turned to kidnapping and illegal gold mining for funds.
Image: Reuters
How the US got involved
To help the Colombian security forces fight against the insurgency and to counter drug-trafficking, the US began sending billions of dollars under Plan Colombia. The US State Department classifies the group as a terrorist organization and its leaders face US indictments.
Image: Reuters/J. Vizcaino
The human cost of the conflict
Latin America's longest-running armed conflict is responsible for the death an estimated 220,000 people, while millions of Colombians have been displaced within their country. According to Bogota’s estimates, there are 7.6 million direct and indirect victims of the conflict. The country has more landmine victims than any country except for Afghanistan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Escobar Mora
Peace accord after decades of failed attempts
Peace talks between FARC and the government collapsed in the mid 1980s after at least 3,000 allies of FARC's political wing Patriotic Union Party were killed at the hands of right-wing paramilitaries. Efforts fell short again in 2002 after the rebels hijacked an airliner to kidnap a senator. The latest round of talks started in 2012 in Havana and culminated on August 24, 2016 with a deal.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Abramovich
50 years of conflict
"We have reached a final, integral and definitive agreement" to end the conflict and build a stable, lasting peace, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said in a joint statement. In June, the negotiators had already announced a cease-fire agreement and a blueprint for how the estimated 7,000 to 8,000 fighters will demobilize.
