“However difficult and demanding of patience, Colombia’s decision to prioritise dialogue as a principal means to resolve conflict sets the country apart as a model that is more relevant than ever in today’s world,” said Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia.Recommending better use of existing tools to implement the peace agreement, he called on the government to finalise legal instruments and reintegration programmes for former combatants to provide these men and women with certainty and consolidate their transition to civilian life.
‘Still a long way to go’
Emerging from decades of war, the Government has since made critical strides in implementing the 2016 Final Peace Agreement by advancing ongoing dialogue initiatives, he said, recalling the Council’s recent visit when members were able to observe firsthand the “deep desire for peace”, from the highest levels of government and state institutions through civil society and vulnerable communities in the regions still afflicted by conflict.UN Photo/Eskinder DebebeSinergias/Wilber Caballero
Anticipating ‘concrete results’
“Think of Colombia as a laboratory for implementing the principles of equality, non-discrimination and inclusivity that are so central to the women, peace and security agenda,” she said. “Success or failure here could set an important precedent for the protection of LGBTQ rights elsewhere in the world. We hope this Council seizes the opportunity to lead by example.”However, the Secretary-General’s latest report recognises significant increases in budget allocations and efforts of the current government, he continued.“The key challenge for transforming that aspiration into reality is to channel the abundant political will and the drive of civil society into ever more tangible dividends of peace on the ground,” he said.
‘Scarred by war, yet hopeful for peace’
“Every attack against an LGBTQ person, every human rights defender killed and every murder left uninvestigated sends the message that our lives are dispensable,” she warned, pointing to reports of at least 6,000 crimes committed against them during the armed conflict and at least eight deaths against rights workers in 2023.Efforts are ongoing to reach communities around Colombia with health and education programmes.PAHO/Karen González Abril“Thanks to our collective efforts, what was once unthinkable is now possible: peace initiatives that recognise all Colombians, slow but meaningful social change towards a world without discrimination and a legal framework rooted in the fundamental principle of equality,” she said. “I come from a country scarred by war, yet hopeful for peace.”
‘Think of Colombia as a laboratory’
She said she hoped “that the Security Council can send a powerful signal to the LGBTQ population in Colombia that their lives matter and that you will stand by your commitment to protect their rights”.However, challenges persist, she said, as LGBTQ people have long been targeted for who they are due to entrenched patriarchal norms and discrimination, and Colombia remains “one of the deadliest countries in the world for human rights defenders”.Preparations ahead of meetings in an indigenous community in Colombia.