Attachments
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2754 (2024), by which the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, and resolution 2366 (2017), in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the mandate of the Mission every 90 days. The report covers the period from 27 September to 26 December 2024.
II. Major developments
2. The reporting period was marked by activities commemorating the eighth anniversary of the signing of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace, which ended over five decades of conflict between the Government and the former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP). A high-profile event on 21 November in Bogotá was attended by the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, former FARC-EP representatives, national authorities, civil society organizations and representatives of the international community. The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary A. DiCarlo, represented the Secretary-General.
3. The parties renewed their commitment to the Final Agreement while expressing concerns about its state of implementation. In his statement, President Petro underscored that the comprehensive rural reform will remain a priority for his Government. The President acknowledged that limited progress had been made on this chapter since the signing of the Final Agreement and called for Congress to adopt legislation to speed up land distribution. He set a goal of adjudicating 600,000 hectares to peasants, rural women and victims by the end of 2025, moving towards the overall target set out in the Final Agreement of providing 3 million hectares of land established under the Final Agreement. Comunes (former FARC-EP) political party leader, Rodrigo Londoño, representing the other signatory Party, stated that the Final Agreement constituted a road map for building sustainable peace and had set an international standard. He deplored, however, the number of former FARC-EP combatants killed since the adoption of the Final Agreement and that thousands had been internally displaced. The Under-Secretary-General said the world shared Colombia’s hope and faith in peace. She commended the parties and civil society for their commitment, she paid homage to victims, slain former combatants and women peacebuilders and she echoed the call by the Secretary-General for Colombians to persevere through the challenges.
4. On 22 November, for the first time since the signing of the Final Agreement, the parties announced a revision of the Framework Plan for Implementation of the Final Agreement, with updated indicators and time frames for its implementation. The revision agreement was reached within the Commission for the Follow-Up, Promotion and Verification of the Implementation of the Final Agreement. The Framework Plan’s system of 80 indicators for assessing progress and for planning was adjusted to current realities and to focus on results and impact. The parties also discussed possible extensions within the existing implementation time frame, which would be subject to approval by Congress.
5. In October, the Minister of the Interior, Juan Fernando Cristo, officially presented the rapid response plan to accelerate the implementation of the Final Agreement, announced by President Petro and Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo during the meeting of the Security Council on Colombia in July. The plan contains six points: the establishment of pacts between national and local authorities to accelerate the implementation of the development programmes with a territorial focus; focus on the comprehensive rural reform; a legislative agenda to speed up the process; strengthening of the Comprehensive Security System for the Exercise of Politics; implementation of provisions of the Final Agreement aimed at eliminating violence from political life; and the attribution of roles and responsibilities regarding the implementation of the rapid response plan.
6. Efforts by Colombia to consolidate peace over the years has continued to serve as a valuable source of knowledge and experience in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, with the country hosting various events of international significance. Events included the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November, with the Government of Colombia placing the event under the theme of making “Peace with nature”. The Secretary-General, who participated in the meeting from 28 to 30 October, recognized the efforts by the Government to accelerate the implementation of the Final Agreement and acknowledged the continued and firm commitment of the former FARC-EP combatants. In November, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, attended the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which was held in Bogotá. The Special Representative emphasized the urgent need for access to justice for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and the importance of prevention, protection and guarantees of non-repetition. In December, the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, established pursu ant to resolution 1612 (2005) visited the country to follow up on its recommendations and to gain first-hand knowledge of the situation regarding children and armed conflict.
7. On 30 November, Colombia launched its first national action plan on women and peace and security, developed through broad societal consultations and supported by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the Verification Mission, and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes. The plan’s 10-year strategic framework defines thematic areas, targeted outcomes and specific actions to be led by government entities. Key themes include access to justice, gender-based violence prevention and assistance for displaced women and refugees with mainstreamed safeguards for Indigenous and Afrodescendant women. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Equality, Defence and of the Interior and the Unit for Implementation of the Final Agreement have been tasked with coordinating the implementation and monitoring the plan, producing annual progress reports and holding biannual consultations with women’s organizations. Adequate funding and strong local ownership will be key to the plan’s implementation.
8. The Government continued to pursue simultaneous dialogue processes with nine armed actors as a complementary strategy to its efforts to implement the Final Agreement. Parallel peace talks were held with groups that the Government deemed as political in nature: the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN); factions of the group known as the Estado Mayor Central Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo (EMC FARC-EP) that continue in the dialogue process and are now self-identifying as Estado Mayor de los Bloques y Frentes (EMBF); the group known as the Segunda Marquetalia, which split during the current reporting period, resulting in ongoing negotiations with a faction that now identifies as Coordinadora Nacional Ejército Bolivariano (CNEB); and the Comuneros del Sur in Nariño Department. Talks with criminal organizations – “socio-legal dialogues” aimed at advancing their possible submission to justice – continued in the cities of Buenaventura, Medellín and Quibdó. The Government took initial confidence - building steps with the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC) – also known as the Clan del Golfo – and with the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN).
9. During the reporting period, the Government and ELN held two extraordinary meetings in Caracas, following a six-month hiatus (see para. 72). Armed clashes between the parties continued in the absence of a ceasefire, resulting in multiple casualties among the parties and affecting rural communities, particularly in the Departments of Antioquia, Arauca, Chocó and Norte de Santander (see para. 73). The parties have agreed to meet again in January 2025 to address their divergences and seek ways to renew negotiations on a strengthened ceasefire agreement and to continue the participation process (see para. 72).
10. Despite ongoing peace efforts, disputes between armed groups and clashes with public security forces continued in several regions, following the suspension or non-renewal of ceasefire agreements. These conflicts were concentrated in regions historically affected by violence, such as Antioquia, Arauca, southern Bolívar, Caquetá, Cauca, Chocó, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo and Valle del Cauca.
11. In Departments with limited State presence and illegal economies, conflict dynamics varied. In some of the country’s north-western regions, there was a notable expansion of AGC. The south-east region was mostly affected by disputes between EMBF and the factions of EMC that opted to leave the peace table, bringing to an end the ceasefire agreement with the Government; and the disputes between EMBF and CNEB, in particular in Putumayo. Most of the clashes between EMC and public security forces took place in the south-west region of the country. Armed clashes continued between public security forces and ELN in Arauca and Norte de Santander Departments, following the expiration of the ceasefire agreement on 3 August (see para. 73). There has been an increase in the recruitment of children and the use of antipersonnel mines. Conflicts have further confined and displaced civilians, in particular in the north and north-eastern regions of Antioquia. Rural communities and civil society organizations have reiterated calls for greater action by the State to address the situation.