The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, on December 18th. PRESIDENCY OF COLOMBIA
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has achieved what seemed impossible: an agreement on a six-month bilateral ceasefire with five armed groups. The President has announced on his Twitter account that the commitment has been taken by the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Second Marquetalia and the Central General Staff, FARC dissidents, the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC or Clan del Golfo). and the Sierra Nevada Self-Defense Forces.
“It’s a brave act. The bilateral ceasefire obliges the armed organizations and the state to comply with it. There will be a national and international review mechanism,” the President said. “Total peace will be a reality,” the president wrote in his final message of 2022. In the announcement, the government said it had received letters from civil society, the church and community organizations calling for an end to the violence.
We have agreed with the ELN, the Segunda Marquetalia, the Central Joint Chiefs of Staff, the AGC and the Sierra Nevada Self-Defense Forces on a bilateral hiatus from January 1 to June 30, 2023, which may be extended depending on the progress of negotiations.
Total peace becomes reality.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 1, 2023
In a statement released after the president’s announcement, the government detailed details of the agreement. “The aim of this ceasefire will be to suspend the humanitarian impact on the ethno-territorial and peasant communities and the nation in general, to suspend offensive actions and to avoid armed incidents between public power and organizations outside the law with those who consented to it have attitude”.
The government has announced that it will issue a specific decree for each of the organizations, setting out the duration and terms of the agreement. The start of these pacts to curb violence is extended to June 30, 2023, renewable as negotiations progress. The process is overseen nationally and internationally by the UN Verification Mission, MAPP/OEA, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Catholic Church.
The ELN maintained a unilateral ceasefire that would end on January 2nd. With the president’s announcement, the guerrillas, who are in the middle of a negotiation process, are extending their pledge by six months, a sign that they are ready to make peace this time.
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Carlos Ruiz Massieu, UN representative in Colombia, greeted the government’s announcement with a message of support. “The United Nations supports all efforts aimed at reducing violence in the areas, protecting communities affected by the conflict and building peace in Colombia.”
According to Indepaz, 94 massacres were recorded in 2022 and 189 social leaders and 42 peace signers were assassinated.
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