The government of outgoing President Ivan Duque deliberately destroyed Colombia’s peace process, according to more than 275 NGOs.
In a report, the NGOs said that “the current government deliberately took to shredding the Peace Agreement” signed by former President Juan Manuel Santos and now-defunct guerrilla group FARC in 2016.
According to the NGO’s, the resurgence of violence and armed conflict in Colombia during the peace process is the consequence of Duque’s refusal to implement the peace deal.
Furthermore, the government “rejecting peace talks with the ELN, neglecting to fight against paramilitarism, and creating conditions for the increase in impunity and the presence of illegal armed actors throughout the country” added to the falling apart of the peace process.
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Duque’s lies
President Ivan Duque
The report blasted Duque’s false claims about his contributions to peace in Colombia abroad while implementing policies that only fueled violence.
The NGO’s were particularly harsh about Duque’s claims that his government was responsible for “the end” of paramilitary organization AGC, also known as the “Clan del Golfo,”
According to the Defense Ministry, the paramilitaries have expanded their territorial control during the outgoing administration.
His government did not dismantle the Gulf Clan that, on the contrary, strengthened its presence by going from 170 municipalities at the time of the peace agreement to 212 in 2021.
NGOs
According to the NGOs, Duque presided over “a period that was used to promote the expansion of armed paramilitary structures and other illegal groups that were able to act with greater freedom, imposing terror on communities and social leaders in the areas previously under the control of the FARC, and new areas previously not affected by the conflict.”
The report blasted Duque’s attempt to promote himself abroad as a promotor of peace in Colombia while effectively promoting violence in his country.
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Illegal armed groups push State back
ELN guerrillas (Screenshot: YouTube)
The latest report confirmed those of think tanks and the Ombudsman’s Office that also registered an expansion of illegal armed groups since Duque took office in 2018.
Think tank Indepaz warned earlier this month that violence registered so far this year approached levels not seen in Colombia in decades.
This violence has disproportionally affected human right defenders and community leaders, according to the report by the NGOs and the think tanks.
According to the NGOs. 1,309 social leaders were assassinated since the 2016 peace deal. More than 859 were killed after Duque took office.
Most of this violence was due to a failing state response to turf wars between paramilitary group AGC and guerrilla group ELN that have both grown in power over the past years.
Colombia subjected to worst levels of violence in decades
“Indulgent” international community
Diana Sanchez of social organization Minga blamed the international community’s “indulgence” that the government was able to “shred” the peace deal.
The United Nations’ security council monitors Colombia’s peace process, which is strongly influenced by United States’ foreign policy.
