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Twenty-fifth report of the Secretary General to the Permanent Council on the Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia (MAPP/OAS)

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The following report is presented pursuant to resolution CP/RES. 859 (1397/04), in which the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) asks the Secretary General to periodically report on the work of the Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia, hereinafter MAPP/OAS or the Mission.

The mandate of the MAPP/OAS issues from the agreement signed by the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the General Secretariat of the OAS, hereinafter GS/OAS, on January 23, 2004, as well as from Permanent Council resolution CP/RES.859 (1397/04), adopted on February 6, 2004. This mandate has been broadened and extended seven times; most recently, it was extended to December 31, 2021.

Every day, the MAPP/OAS works to support peacebuilding in Colombia. It does so directly in the territories that are most affected by the internal armed conflict, by supporting communities; public institutions; indigenous authorities; black communities; social, civil, and women’s organizations; religious communities; security forces; victims of the armed conflict; human rights defenders; community leaders; and ex-combatants, at the municipal, departmental, and national levels.

The Mission’s work is based on interacting with stakeholders, supporting local processes, and monitoring the perceptions, dynamics, and impacts associated with the implementation of peace policies, through a fluid exchange based on the trust built by the Mission over the years (which makes it easier to obtain strategic information that meets criteria of trustworthiness and triangulation), outreach among communities and institutions, and a high level of proactive advocacy.

The information set forth in this report corresponds to the findings made by the GS/OAS through the MAPP/OAS as a result of its work monitoring and supporting peacebuilding efforts in Colombia from September 1, 2017, to July 31, 2018. Some events that took place outside that timeframe are also discussed.

Pursuant to resolution CP/RES. 859 (1397/04) numbered paragraph 3, the MAPP/OAS consults the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) prior to the publication hereof, in order to hear its observations on the functions for which it is responsible, and for the two OAS authorities to work together and share information.

The support of the international community is vital in enabling the MAPP/OAS to perform the activities in its mandate. The GS/OAS therefore wishes to thank the donors and friends of the MAPP/OAS, especially the Basket Fund countries—Germany, Canada, Spain, the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—whose political and financial support make the Mission’s operations possible. The GS/OAS is also grateful for the contributions made by Korea, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the European Union, as well as the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

From September 1, 2017, to July 31, 2018, the MAPP/OAS carried out a total of 1,836 field missions, of which 1,432 involved monitoring and the remaining 404, support activities. These missions were conducted in 941 populated areas in 213 municipalities of 23 of the country’s departments. These populated areas included municipal capitals, townships, villages, indigenous reserves, and community councils.