Colombia’s foreign minister will meet with the secretary general of the United Nations after the international organization expressed “regret” over President Ivan Duque’s refusal to sign off on the country’s war crimes tribunal.
Carlos Holmes Trujillo will visit Antonio Guterres, to explain “in detail” why Duque chose to fly in face of the the Constitutional Court and return a statutory bill that defines the powers of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) to Congress.
Trujillo’s visit to New York will be with the purpose of “making known the reasons that led President Duque to present the objections, the scope and content of these objections,” the minister told Blu, the radio station run by Duque’s brother in law.
Supporters of peace warn UN that Duque is “trying to seriously damage” war crimes tribunal
Duque has opposed Colombia’s peace process since before coming to power last year and in particular the JEP, which could see many of his political allies and economic backers formally linked to war crimes.
More than 100 politicians, victim representatives, scholars, social leaders and former guerrillas on Monday called on UN Secretary General Guterres to inform the Security Council on the crisis.
The UN, which monitors compliance to the 2016 peace deal responded to Duque’s decision in a statement on Monday, calling on Colombia’s government to respect the terms of the 2016 peace agreement with demobilized FARC rebels and commitment to victims relating to justice.
We regret that, more than two years after the signing of the Final Agreement, the JEP does not yet have a Statutory Law, a solid legal framework that guarantees its operation in full exercise of autonomy and independence, key principles that the UN, through the Security Council, has repeatedly indicated as indispensable.
United Nations mission in Colombia
The UN has continually supported the establishment of a transitional justice system and insisted that the war crimes tribunal is elementary for Colombia’s 8.5 million armed conflict victims to find justice after decades of almost absolute impunity.
The United Nations System and the Verification Mission recognize the need for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace to guarantee justice within the framework of the principles of truth, reparation and non-repetition so that Colombia may move towards the achievement of a reconciled society. We support and recognize the exceptional work of the JEP to contribute to the consolidation of peace.
United Nations mission in Colombia
“When things are explained in context, the international community will understand and support them,” said the foreign minister who had tried to prevent justice for the country’s victims for years.
The Duque administration received support from the government of the United States, a permanent member of the Security Council and a long-time sponsor of war in Colombia.
US supports Duque’s latest attempt to sink Colombia’s war crimes tribunal
Washington DC’s support for Duque’s controversial move that sank the country’s troubled peace process into another crisis however makes it virtually impossible for the Security Council to adopt any resolution that would condemn the Colombian state for its chronic failures to honor the peace agreement with demobilized FARC guerrillas and conflict victims.
Duque’s decision represents the biggest blow since the US requested the extradition of FARC leader “Jesus Santrich” on an unsubstantiated drug trafficking claim that spurred 30 former mid-level guerrilla commanders to go underground.
