The new year provides an opportunity for Colombia to keep advancing towards lasting peace, a decade after a landmark accord that ended more than 50 years of conflict, the UN Special Representative told the Security Council on Friday.
At a time of tensions both globally and regionally,it is in everyones interest to secure lasting peace and security in Colombia,saidMiroslav Jena, delivering his quarterly briefing.
He said the coming yearundoubtedly provides a window to advance peace as a strategic national objective, and for Colombia and its partners to engage constructively through dialogue to address shared challenges,particularlyin the border areawith Venezuelawhere cooperation on all sides is essential.
Switch in focus
Mr.Jenaalso headsthe UN Verification Mission in Colombia, and he reported on re-organization outlined inCouncil resolution 2798 (2025), adopted last October.
The resolution extended theMissions mandate for a year andchanged its focus tomonitoringthreeprovisionsof the2016 peace agreementsigned by theGovernment and FARC-EP rebels:
- Comprehensiverural reform
- Reintegration of former combatants
- Securityof both ex-fighters andcommunities in conflict-affected regions
Previously mandated verification on transitional justice, ethnic-relatedissuesand ceasefire monitoring wasdiscontinued.
Challenges in conflict areas
Mr.Jenahas spent the past three months meeting key counterparts across Colombia who underscored that the three pillars are important for achieving peace.
During visits to several parts of the country, he was struck not only by the immense challenges facing communities in conflict-affected regions, but also by theirresilience and determination to achieve a better future.
In someof the most remote areas, daily life is a struggle due to the actions of different illegal armed actors and to the limited presence of the state, public services and development opportunities.
Limited opportunities
Henoted thatre-integration of former combatants is essential to the success of peace agreementsand ensuring theirtransition to civilian life iscrucial to avoid a return to violence.
Nevertheless, nine years after the FARC-EP laid down arms under the Peace Agreement,the path has proven challenging for the over 11,000 former combatantswho remain active in the governments reintegrationprogramme, he said.
These men and women often live in remote areas with limited infrastructure, access to markets, and threats to their security.
For the authorities, it has also entailed major efforts, both financial and programmatic, to facilitate their transition into civilian life, he added, noting that while substantial progress has been madebut more is needed.
Fertile ground for armed groups
Access to land has progressedin Colombiabut still needs to be fully resolved, Mr.Jenasaid.Meanwhile,securityremainsfragile.
Some487 former combatants have been killed since laying down their arms. He urged the authorities to step up investigations and prioritize security guarantees for those who signed the peace deal.
Although violence is far lowernowthan at the height of the conflict,the presence of armed groups in areas still affected by conflict continues to inflict suffering on entire communities.
Thisviolence is beingfuelledby amix of factorsandlimitedStatepresenceprovides fertile ground for the armed groups to exert control, and for illicit economies to prevail.
Rise in child recruitment
As a result, civilian populations have facedthreats,killings of social leaders, forced displacement and confinement, and an alarming increase inchildrecruitment and use by armed groups.
The situation in border areasisparticularly complex, he said.TheUNMissions team in Ccuta,a cityon the border with Venezuela,supports responseto continuing clashes between rival armed groups.
Thousands of civilians have beenhave forced to fleetheir homes in the Catatumbo region, which he described asa hub of coca cultivation and cross-border armed activities and criminality.
Holistic vision for peace
Mr.Jenainsisted that the Peace Agreementcansignificantly contribute to addressing many of these problems.
It offers a much-needed holistic vision, by providing for the strengthening of the States capacity to dismantle criminal structures, to promote alternatives to coca cultivation and concrete development measures through its comprehensive rural reform, he said.
