Press Release

14 December 2020

Spiralling violence threatens Colombian peace process, according to new report

Colombia’s peace process is under threat from the increasing murder of community leaders and human rights activists according to the findings of a new report released today by the British-Irish NGO Justice for Colombia.

The report, which is published in follow-up to an international delegation to Colombia which included two British MPs, details the principal advances and concerns facing the historic agreement signed in November 2016 between the Colombian state and the FARC guerrilla organisation.

According to the Colombian human rights organisation INDEPAZ, over 250 activists have been killed in 2020, while more than 240 FARC former combatants and 44 family members have been murdered since the signing of the deal.

Further to the extreme lack of security and increasing levels of violence, the report highlights a number of major concerns regarding the actions of the current government led by President Ivan Duque:

“While the Colombian government’s verbal assurances of its commitment to the peace process are welcome […] these assurances are often contradicted by political decisions or inaction which push in the opposite direction.”

The lack of sufficient budget for the peace process, slow implementation of rural reforms, and recent human rights scandals involving Colombian security forces were all emphasised.

The report also highlighted areas of progress with particular praise for the work of the transitional justice system made up of a peace tribunal, a truth commission, and a unit to search for people who have been disappeared. The various mechanisms “give an opportunity for victims to have their rights recognised on a scale never previously achieved in Colombia”, the report says.

This is the third report into the peace process published by Justice for Colombia as part of its Peace Monitor project which takes MPs and trade unionists to visit the country and meet with key actors involved the peace process including human rights organisations, the Colombian government, the FARC and the UN Verification Mission.

To view the Executive Summary of the report click here.

To view the full report click here.

For more information on the Justice for Colombia Peace Monitor click here.

For photos from the international delegation click here.

For further information and interviews:

Hasan Dodwell, Director, Justice for Colombia: hasan@justiceforcolombia.org / +447859934234

@JFColombia / http://www.justiceforcolombia.org