Former senator and government mediator Piedad Cordoba requested an interview Monday with the incoming secretary general of the Union of South American Nations, (UNASUR) Venezuela’s Ali Rodriguez.
In a letter to Rodriguez, signed on behalf of Cordoba’s humanitarian organization, Colombians for Peace, (CCP) the ex-Senator asked “to share with you our concerns and proposals for discussion at the UNASUR agenda” in order to create “social inclusion and peace in Colombia.” UNASUR is an intergovernmental coalition concerned with issues affecting South America.
Rodriguez, Venezuela’s former energy minister, took over the secretary general position Monday from Colombian Maria Emma Mejia.
Cordoba took the opportunity to praise Mejia’s work, as well as that of her predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in the fight against illegal armed groups.
“However, we continue to see how [the armed conflict] affects our country’s military, political, social and environmental tensions, making the regional integration of agreements impossible within a framework of respect for national sovereignty,” she added.
UNASUR, formed in 2008, was modeled after the European Union and enjoys membership from 12 South American nations.