Colombia government already including FARC deals in long-term planning

The director of the Colombia’s National Planning Department has announced that partial accords made with the FARC will be included in the National Development Plan for the period of 2014-2018 in spite of the absence of a peace deal, according to local media.

Liberal Party mogul Simon Gaviria, who heads the department, said that they plan to “incorporate many of the intentions in the agreements in Havana in the National Development Plan,”adding that “the most important thing is to anticipate an institutional architecture so that in the eventuality of the agreements, they can be implemented,” according to a report by El Pais.

Gaviria said that meetings are being planned between the officials from his department and peace delegates to incorporate the agreements into the plan, El Espectador reported Thursday.

Last week, the Colombian government and the FARC in a joint communique announced that they were publishing the full texts of the partial agreements already reached on rural reform, political participation, and illicit drugs.

MORE: Colombia government, FARC release preliminary peace deals

Gaviria added that much of what was in the deals was “common sense” and should have been done even without the FARC’s interference. He plans to hold meetings with the international community to seek support, cooperation, and financing for post-conflict projects for which is department is planning.

Both delegations signed of on the three agreements in the past year.

Until last week, the parties refused to release the agreements claiming none of the pacts would come into force until after the signing of an all-encompassing peace treaty. However, following a stream of allegations from the conservative opposition led by former President Alvaro Uribe, the partial deals were released to avert “misinformation” by opponents.

MORE: Colombia’s peace deals in depth: Rural reform, Political participation, Illicit drugs

The government has been talking with the FARC since 2012 and have concluded subjects that require permanent policy changes. The warring parties are currently discussing victims. Once this is completed successfully, the logistics of actually ending the war and reintegrating FARC fighters into society will be discussed.

Sources

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