Representatives of illegal armed groups will help verify compliance with a six-month ceasefire with Colombia’s security forces, the interior minister said Monday.
In a press conference, Interior Minister Alfonso Prada said that the guerrilla and paramilitaries that agreed to the bilateral ceasefire will also help monitor compliance.
Representatives of the Defense Ministry and the military will join the same commission, according to Prada.
Groups that agreed to ceasefire
Colombia announces bilateral ceasefire with main illegal armed groups
The verification commission
The government had already said that the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Ombudsman’s Office and the Catholic Church would verify the ceasefire that began on Sunday.
The minister said the government decided to form the commission with the illegal armed groups based on lessons learned during a previous ceasefire with the ELN.
The guerrillas refused to extend a 100-day ceasefire in early 2018 over alleged breaches of the ceasefire agreed with former President Juan Manuel Santos.
Prada did not indicate when the commission to monitor compliance with the ceasefire will take force or how it would deal with possible violations.
The risks and opportunities of ceasefires with Colombia’s illegal armed groups
The potential impact of the ceasefire
The bilateral ceasefire could have a major impact on public security throughout Colombia.
The groups that agreed to the ceasefire are estimated to have some 15,000 men and women in arms.
The participating guerrillas and paramilitary groups are active in approximately 350 of Colombia’s 1,100 municipalities.
This has led to extreme levels of violence in regions where the groups are vying for control over illegal economic activity like drug trafficking and illegal mining.
Prada said that the bilateral ceasefire did not imply the security forces would stop enforcing the law in regions where the illegal armed groups are involved in organized crime activity or threatening the civilian population.