Colombia’s peace commissioner insists the United Nations has painted a too negative picture of the reintegration of former FARC fighters in a peace process.
Several top UN officials have criticized the government over failures to reintegrate the members of the former guerrilla groups that declared war on the government in 1964.
Thousands of demobilized FARC guerrillas have abandoned their reintegration camps, according to the UN’s mission chief, Jean Arnault.
Only 45% of disarmed FARC members left in reintegration camps: UN
Rodrigo Rivera, the country’s highest peace official, said the criticism of the top UN officials “fueled a fire on social media and in public opinion.”
More than 8,000 disarmed FARC members have been living in camps where they want to collectively return to farming. (Image credit: United Nations)
The UN has been monitoring the peace process and expressing fierce criticism over Rivera’s failing to keep his word.
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, said this month Colombian authorities were failing to effectively reintegrate former FARC combatants, guarantee the former guerrillas’ political participation and secure state presence in former rebel territories.
Colombia ‘must do more’ to achieve peace: UN
El Tiempo
According to the top official, the United Nations has failed to recognize efforts made by the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos and implied that the FARC, now a Marxist political party, used the UN for political benefit.
Rivera released a press release last week and spoke with newspaper El Tiempo over the weekend to insist the reintegration of the former combatants is going better than portrayed by the UN.
Peace Commissioner Rodrigo Rivera
Rivera said that some 1,000 FARC members opted to reintegrate individually without the benefits of the peace process while 200 signed up to study medicine in Cuba.
Peace Commissioner Rodrigo Rivera
Colombia’s peace process has been marred by multiple delays and failures, and has divided public opinion.
The drug-fueled armed conflict that erupted after a military attack on the village of FARC founders killed more than 265,000 since 1964 and displaced 8 million since the 1990s.