FARC And Colombian Peace Deal

Colombia and FARC, the leftist rebel group, have been engaged in war since 1964. On the 24th of August the two parties announced that they have finally achieved a peace deal.

In a statement released by the spokesperson of the Secretary General of the United Nations, it was recalled that the Colombian government and the FARC, 4 years ago, ‘set out to resolve through dialogue one of the world’s oldest armed conflicts’. Now they have successfully negotiated a peace deal following a year long ceasefire. As one of the world’s oldest armed conflicts, the Colombian people have experienced violence and death, with over 220 000 people dying from the war.

According to the UNHCR Global Overview of people internally displaced by conflict and violence, over six million people were displaced in Colombia by the end of 2014. Colombia had the second highest number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) with 15.8% of the world’s IDPs; second only to Syria. In 2014 30% of the newly displaced persons were from the African-Colombian communities. 46% of IDPS are aged between 6 and 26 – forced to flee mainly due to ‘recruitment of minors, sexual violence, extortion and the targeting of human rights defenders’ according to the UNHCR. Thus it is clear that the protracted and intense nature of the conflict has dramatically affected Colombian society, with a disproportionate effect on the young people of Colombia.

In June 2015 the two parties came to an agreement to end hostilities. The deal significantly outlined a ‘Special Jurisdiction for Peace’ which meant that those who denied responsibility for grave crimes and were found guilty would face up to 20 years in prison and those who admitted responsibility would receive custodial sentences of 5-8 years. Amnesty International says that these arrangements may mean that Colombia is failing to comply with its international law obligations to prevent and punish such crimes. Again, Amnesty International highlights that a key issue in the maintenance of long lasting peace will be that the victims of the various human rights crimes, committed during the war, see justice.

The length of the conflict, in combination with the various human rights abuses which occurred during the decades of war have resulted in public hostility remaining rife in Colombia. There remains serious resentment and anger towards the FARC which financed their operations through drug trafficking and kidnappings. It therefore remains unclear whether the community, when required to vote in a referendum on October 2, will vote in favour of the peace deal. For many, maintaining the status quo may seem easier than negotiating reintegration of the FARC into the community.

The UN peacebuilding fund has approved $3 million for a project to support the collective reparations of victims of the armed conflict and to pave the way for the implementation of the peace agreements. Al Jazeera reported that the FARC will begin moving its 7000 fighters from the jungle and mountain hideouts into disarmament camps set up by the UN which is helping to monitor the ceasefire.

It is evident that while the peace deal is a significant move forward for Colombia in negotiating and attempting to achieve durable peace, the implementation of the peace deal will be significantly affected by the social and political factors at play. The symbolic achievement of a formal peace deal should allow the Colombian government to begin restoring the country and to end human rights abuses. The outcome of the agreement should lead to stability and security for the citizens of Colombia.

Lili Smith
Latest posts by Lili Smith (see all)

Related