A month before the tenth anniversary of the signing of Colombia’s 2016 Peace Agreement, the UN Security Council reviewed its implementation under the new Administration of President Abelardo Gabriel de la Espriella, who assumed office on 7 August, amid hopes that the gains achieved over the past decade would be preserved and strengthened through concrete policies and decisive action.
Colombia’s conflict began in the 1960s, when political marginalization and unequal land access sparked a conflagration that lasted decades, and led to the inception of armed groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army. That period saw rebels, paramilitaries and criminal networks killing and displacing millions.
Entering the final third of the 15-year implementation period set by the Agreement, Omar Bula, Colombia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, stressed that “genuine and lasting peace” has not been achieved, as the country remains challenged by persistent violence, expanding armed groups, record levels of drug trafficking, increased kidnappings, massacres and child recruitment.
Pointing out that, between 2016 and August 2026, 132,930 people were murdered in Colombia, while 100,000 cases of extortion and 2,750 kidnappings were recorded, he said: “For our peasant farmers, workers, children and security forces, peace has simply not existed.”
As a result, he said, his government has changed course to ensure that peace is built on “a solid foundation”. In 60 days, his government conducted 32,029 arrests, confiscated 135 tons of narcotics, removed 3,414 firearms from circulation and signed 119 extradition orders to dismantle criminal networks, he said, also highlighting efforts to “neutralize” leaders of armed groups and destroy illicit infrastructure.
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