UN Human Rights Council Supports the Colombian Peace Process
Colombian President Gustavo Petro (L) inaugurates the Peace Monument in the United Nations garden, NY, July 11, 2024. Photo: X/ @RedMasNoticias
July 11, 2024 Hour: 1:30 pm
In 2023, international organizations verified 105 cases of homicides of human rights defenders in this country.
On Thursday, the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR) approved a resolution requesting greater support from the international community for the implementation of the 2026 Peace Agreement in Colombia.
RELATED:
Colombian President Petro Calls for Mobilization to Promote Agrarian Reform
The document urges civil society organizations and OHCHR members and observers to join the efforts of the Colombian government for the effective implementation of the agreement.
The OHCHR resolution also calls for cooperation from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to implement the recommendations of Antonia Urrejola, a Chilean expert who was tasked with identifying obstacles to the implementation of the peace agreement.
The text recommended that the Colombian Attorney General’s Office investigates complaints presented by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which observed obstacles in resolving some cases, such as that of Jesus Santrich, a former FARC-EP member and peace agreement negotiator, who was detained in 2018.
On Wednesday, a report presented by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced that high levels of impunity still persist in this South American country.
“The first sentences of the JEP will be crucial to guarantee the victims’ rights to truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition,” said Christian Salazar, the director of the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia.
In 2023, international organizations verified 105 cases of homicides of human rights defenders. So far this year, they have received 98 reports of murders of humanitarian activists in Colombia.
