‘Historic progress’ for Colombia peace process – but challenges remain

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Ahead of the eighth anniversary of Colombia’s peace agreement next month which ended a five-decades-long insurgency, the UN’s envoy to the country highlighted both “historic progress” and significant remaining challenges on Tuesday.

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council that recent Government initiatives reflected an “important re-centreing” of the peace process.

These include a rapid response plan with development projects, public investments and services.

“I welcome initial indications that the plan will focus strongly on rural reform in order to transform conflict-affected regions, as well as on strengthening security guarantees,” Mr. Ruiz Massieu said.

He noted that the peace architecture – established under the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace – particularly the follow-up and verification commission, will play a key role in speeding up implementation.

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Addressing structural causes

Mr. Ruiz Massieu, who also heads the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, welcomed the Government’s commitment to advancing rural reforms, which have the “transformative potential” to address the structural causes of the conflict.

“Day by day, for example, more land is being distributed and formalized for those in need, bringing the promised benefits of peace to landless peasants and those dispossessed of it during the conflict,” he said.

However, despite this and other positive steps, the results to date remain modest in relation to the overarching goals of the Peace Agreement, as the Government itself has recognized.

“I am also concerned about reports that peasant organizations working to advance rural reform have been receiving threats from illegal armed groups,” he warned.

Mr. Ruiz Massieu also urged action on the ethnic chapter of the peace accord, designed to bring peace dividends to Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities, and address the disproportionate impact they suffered during the conflict.

Transitional justice

On transitional justice, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace continues its crucial work in helping society transition from war to peace, he informed Council members.

“The country remains expectant as to the coming stages of the process, especially the issuance of its first sentences to those responsible for serious crimes,” he said, noting that the mechanism’s success will lie in “achieving a delicate balance” between multiple elements.

These include the rights of victims, the legal security of those under its jurisdiction, and the speed and rigor with which justice is delivered.

The Government also bears a major responsibility to ensure that all conditions are in place for the practical implementation of sentences once they are issued, he added.

Obstacles remain

Mr. Ruiz Massieu also emphasized that the complex security situation in several parts of Colombia continues to hinder peacebuilding.

In some regions, signatories to the Agreement and social leaders are still targets of violence, pressure, and threats from armed groups fighting for territorial control and strategic routes tied to illicit economies.

He added that some communities remain caught in the crossfire and subjected to “condemnable phenomena” such as the recruitment of minors, displacement, and confinement.

New challenges, such as the imposition of “social control,” particularly over women and girls, have also emerged, Mr. Ruiz Massieu said, relaying “painful testimonies” from women about being told how to dress or paint their nails.

“The complexity and fluidity of the conflict dynamics in various regions and the insecurity it produces for the affected populations require a comprehensive and complementary approach,” he stressed. Special Representative Ruiz Massieu briefing the Security Council.