I thank SRSG Carlos Ruiz Massieu for his briefing today and for his valuable work. I express Estonia’s strong support to the work of the UN Verification Mission. I also warmly welcome the presence of the Foreign Minister, Ms Claudia Blum de Barberi.
Last year marked a significant milestone – the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Final Peace Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP. Much has already been achieved but more remains to be done. It is now crucial to stay on course and to continue the full implementation of the Peace Agreement. For this, continued engagement of all parties remains crucial. Colombia has been hit hard by the pandemic and its socio-economic consequences. We commend the efforts of the Government of Colombia to mitigate that impact. 2021 will be an important year for recovering from the pandemic, consolidating achievements of the Peace Process as well as addressing the root causes of the conflict.
We encourage the Government to work together with FARC on elements essential to achieve progress in the implementation of the Peace Agreement. We are pleased to see steps taken regarding access to land for the former FARC-EP combatants, as part of the implementation of projects in the TATR. It is essential to ensure the sustainability of the reintegration process, both economically and politically and to address the pending issues.
The security situation remains the main challenge for the peace process. We are deeply concerned about the continued killings of social and indigenous leaders, human rights defenders and the former FARC-EP combatants – 73 killings of ex-combatants in 2020 is an alarming number. Violence represents a fundamental threat to the success of the Peace Agreement. It is essential to bring to justice those who threaten or kill, and to prevent attacks against people implementing the Peace Agreement. We reiterate the need to increase State presence in rural territories to protect communities. The finalisation of the Government´s public policy on dismantling illegal armed groups and their support networks would also represent an important step.
It’s also important to make progress in implementing the gender provisions of the Peace Agreement, such as equal access to security and protection schemes for former female combatants, and to address the challenges faced by indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.
We encourage the Government to continue to make full use of all mechanisms and guarantee the independent functioning of all institutions established under the Peace Agreement, including transitional justice mechanisms that play an essential role in guaranteeing the rights of victims to truth, justice reparation and guarantees of non-repetition. The progress can be achieved only by the support and full cooperation by all State institutions with the transitional justice mechanism. 2021 will be a crucial year with the first sentences by the Peace Court and the general report by the Truth Commission. We support a role for the Verification Mission in verifying compliance with the sentences of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace as envisaged in the Final Agreement.
Building peace is hard work. The Colombian peace process has been steadily progressing, however, it remains fragile and requires our continued support. Estonia strongly supports the firm commitment of both parties, the Government of Colombia and FARC, to continue the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement.
