Colombia: violence against ex-combatants, main threat to peace

Violence against former combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), against social officials and against human rights defenders represents

since the agreement reached four years ago, the UN said Thursday, January 21.

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"Although multiple measures have been taken to try to deal with this violence, each assassination is a tragic blow to peace,"

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, head of the United Nations mission in Colombia, told the Security Council. which oversees the reintegration of some 7,000 ex-guerrillas into civilian life.

Since the signing of the peace agreement in November 2016 between the government and the guerrillas, 252 former combatants have been assassinated, he recalled during a videoconference devoted to Colombia.

"The illegal armed groups that persist in various areas of the territory and others that have emerged through drug trafficking and other illegal economies, pose a security threat

,

the Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed, Claudia Blum.

According to her, they are

The minister assured that the government had strengthened the protection of ex-combatants in 2020, but the UN official said that there were still 550 vacant positions of bodyguards for ex-guerrillas.

He also insisted on the need to bring those responsible for the violence to justice and to strengthen the capacities of the local justice system.

Read also: Colombia: former Farc guerrillas march to Bogotá against violence

Until early January, the prosecution had obtained 34 convictions in the context of investigations, out of 289 attacks against rebels who laid down their arms.

In 2020, the country experienced one of the worst waves of violence since the signing of the peace agreement, with 90 deadly events recorded by the Independent Observatory Indepaz.