Delivered by Permanent Representative of Estonia to UN Mr. Sven Jürgenson
Thank you, Mr President,
Allow me to thank SRSG Carlos Ruiz Massieu for his informative briefing and express Estonia´s continued support to the activities of the UN Verification Mission and to the work of the Special Representative. We welcome H.E. Claudia Blum de Berbieri, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia.
We welcome the Colombia´s Government continued commitment to ensure the implementation of peace-related programs. The growing global pandemic of the COVID-19 that has also reached Colombia threatens to make the implementation of the Peace Agreement much more challenging. We support the efforts made by the Government of Colombia to combat the coronavirus pandemic and we welcome ELN´s (Ejército de Liberación Nacional) announcement of a unilateral ceasefire as a positive step towards the Secretary General´s appeal for a global ceasefire in order to help save lives.
We are pleased by the positive steps taken in the implementation of the Peace agreement, especially by the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition. It is important that the victims are at the centre of efforts.
We encourage to continue to move forward with the implementation of the Agreement in spite of the challenging context of the COVID-19. We welcome the firm commitment of the vast majority of former FARC-EP members to the peace process. Ensuring a comprehensive transition is important to reintegrate former combatants in society with dignity and strengthen the foundation for the long term process.
The challenges remain. We stress our concern about the continuation of violence against community leaders, human rights defenders, and former combatants. According to the Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights latest report, killings of women human rights defenders increased by almost 50 per cent in 2019 compared to 2018. We call on the Government of Colombia to reduce impunity and guarantee that all human rights violations are duly investigated and alleged perpetrators prosecuted.
To reiterate, we urge the government to take all necessary measures to stop the tragic killings of social leaders, human rights defenders and former combatants. The National Commission on Security Guarantees should be more regularly convened in order to fulfil its full role according to the Peace Agreement, particularly concerning the dismantlement of criminal groups behind most of this violence.
Lastly, protection measures to former combatants areas outside of the former territorial areas for training and reintegration (TATRs), need to be extended, including new areas of collective reintegration.
In conclusion, we encourage all parties to continue to co-operate in a constructive spirit. We would like to express Estonia´s strong support for the comprehensive implementation of the Peace Agreement.
I thank you!