{"id":25837,"date":"2021-11-26T01:42:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T06:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=25837"},"modified":"2021-11-26T03:13:53","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T08:13:53","slug":"un-chief-sees-firsthand-the-progress-and-challenges-five-years-after-colombias-historic-peace-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=25837","title":{"rendered":"UN chief sees firsthand the progress and challenges five years after Colombia\u2019s historic peace deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION . . <\/p>\n

An article from UN News<\/a><\/p>\n

In Colombia to mark the fifth anniversary of the peace accord between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC-EP, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres on Tuesday visited a small mountainside village he described as a \u201claboratory of peace\u201d, where former combatants and civilians are living and working side-by-side.<\/p>\n

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\nUNMVC. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres talks to villagers in Llano Grande, Colombia, where he witnessed how the peace process was developing in Colombia.<\/center><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Secretary-General\u00a0visited the northern town of Llano Grande, in the Department of Antioquia, along with Colombia\u2019s President, Ivan Duque, as well as the former FARC-EP commander, Rodrigo Londo\u00f1o. The town is one of several areas in the country where the former guerillas are being reincorporated into civilian life.<\/p>\n

Colombia has 32 Departments, or \u2018States\u2019. With up to 80 per cent of its population affected, Antioquia was one of the areas most impacted by the more than 50-year conflict.<\/p>\n

Llano Grande is a town of 150 inhabitants, where former \u2018enemies\u2019 now live and work together. With the support of the United Nations and the Government, the small village has become a place where peace reigns, and as inconceivable as it may have seemed five years ago, FARC combatants and locals now consider themselves family.<\/p>\n

The UN chief walked through the town and was able to talk with its residents who are benefiting from different reincorporation entrepreneurial projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very pleased to be in Llano Grande and I see first-hand the achievements of peace,\u201d Mr. Guterres while visiting the town\u2019s tailoring workshop.<\/p>\n

There, he spoke with worker Monica Astrid Oquendo, who\u00a0recently told UN News\u00a0<\/a> that the Peace Agreement had brought with it initiatives that have greatly helped their community.<\/p>\n

Mr. Guterres also spoke with other workers about their labour and discussed the importance of women\u2019s leadership in the peace process.<\/p>\n

A new brand of coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a group of former combatants took advantage of the UN Chief\u2019s visit to launch Tr\u00f3picos, a new coffee brand created by a cooperative with 1,200 members.<\/p>\n

Mr. Guterres was very interested in the cultivation process of the plant and the different types of coffee that are produced in Colombia.<\/p>\n

\u201cTr\u00f3picos [Spanish for \u2018tropics regions\u2019] is a brand whose geography offers special characteristics. The \u2018rebellion\u2019 of the tropics makes this coffee special because it comes from the community, and from people in the process of reincorporation. It not only has a social background but also quality standards. We have carefully selected each grain to be able to achieve high quality and to offer \u2018Tr\u00f3picos\u2019 to the world,\u201d explained Frey Gustavo de Mat\u00e9, one of its creators.<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General also learned of other projects such as a town school, an arepas (Colombian cornmeal cakes) factory, and a soap factory.<\/p>\n

Later, in a brief address to the community on the town’s soccer field, Mr. Guterres congratulated everyone for \u201ctheir enthusiasm and dedication\u201d to these projects, which, he added, have the support of the Government and the international community.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged that the projects have been hampered by financial difficulties and stressed that as such, it will be necessary to redouble efforts to guarantee their sustainability, as well as to involve the private sector to help find solutions.<\/p>\n

The UN chief recognized the work of the community in the entire municipality of Dabeiba, of which Llano Grande is part, and in other nearby municipalities, which he praised \u201cas an example of integration and reconciliation for receiving ex-combatants with open arms and normalizing democratic life\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis shows true human qualities of teamwork, generosity, hope and courage to build a better future,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Questions related to this article:<\/div>\n
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What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Peace does not come overnight<\/strong><\/p>\n

After hearing from many more members of the community, Mr. Guterres said they know better than anyone that peace does not come overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt costs work to build it, take care of it, sustain it\u2026There is a paradox: the objective of peace is a society with no enemies, but unfortunately there are enemies of peace,\u201d he said expressing his solidarity with the victims and their families.<\/p>\n

Since 2017, there have been 30 homicides and four disappearances, mostly men, only in the Department of Antioquia, according to UN reports.<\/p>\n

Moreover, throughout the country, more than 300 former combatants have been murdered, with some 25 disappearances. Almost 500 human rights defenders and civic leaders have also lost their lives in violent attacks.<\/p>\n

Mr. Guterres said he admired \u201cthe tenacity and commitment\u201d of the people who \u201ccontinue to bet on building peace in Colombia on a day-to-day basis\u201d. He also warned that \u201censuring their security is vital to consolidating peace\u201d.<\/p>\n

United Nations remains committed<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Secretary-General reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to support the peace process and assured that he will discuss with the Government both the issue of security and housing. \u201cWe are all going to take advantage of this meeting to enhance our work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he said that he recognized \u201cwith humility\u201d that the Organization\u2019s work is secondary and that the essential work in the construction of lasting peace belongs to Colombians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this were a film, we would not be candidates for the Oscar for Best Actor, but for the best Supporting Actor,\u201d he concluded<\/p>\n

Joining Mr. Guterres in Llano Grande was the ex-commander of the FARC-EP, Rodrigo Londo\u00f1o, who stressed that even though some 300 signatories to the peace deal had been killed, \u201cwe remain committed\u201d.<\/p>\n

The visit of the Secretary General, he said, \u201cshows that we have made progress and that this is not a failed process.\u201d It also \u201crefutes the assertions of those who do not believe in this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Londo\u00f1o also expressed gratitude to Colombian President, Iv\u00e1n Duque, saying that the leader\u2019s presence in Llano Grande \u201cis encouraging\u201d and a hopeful sign that the Colombian people must continue travelling the path of peace.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, President Duque stated that the progress underway in Llano Grande showed the will of his Government to support efforts to build lasting peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the most important thing that we see today is the rejection of violence \u2026 We value those who have made the decision to categorically reject the violence that was once justified,\u201d the President said, and added: \u201cThis implies that there is no cause or ideology \u2026that justifies murder, kidnapping or any other form of violence that threatens our freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marking five years of peace<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Llano Grande, Mr. Guterres and President Duque flew by helicopter to Apartad\u00f3, in the Urab\u00e1 region, a province dedicated to the cultivation of bananas and where the Government chose to hold a regional commemorative event to mark the fifth anniversary of the peace accord.<\/p>\n

Ahead of that event, they visited the region\u2019s Territorial Development Programme,\u00a0which seeks to<\/a> \u00a0improve the collaboration of different territorial agencies to achieve more effective sustainable development. With the Government\u2019s backing these programmes are supporting a range of reconciliation projects, including the building of a school that will be inaugurated soon.<\/p>\n

The celebration event was held in a park and was attended by a large audience comprised of members of the municipality and the national government.<\/p>\n

For his part, the Secretary-General highlighted the role of women in the peace process and stressed that their participation \u201ccan help generate more inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to express concern about the fact that several regions continue to face increasing insecurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe actions of the illegal armed actors diminish the hopes of local communities, as well as jeopardize the prospects for sustainable development,\u201d said the Secretary-General.<\/p>\n

He concluded that \u201cpeace requires facing the suffering of the past\u201d and \u201creconciliation is the only way to a stable and lasting peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomorrow on his last day in Colombia, Mr. Guterres will participate in the commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Final Peace Agreement in the capital, Bogot\u00e1. He will also attend the \u2018La Paz es Productiva\u2019 fair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION . . An article from UN News In Colombia to mark the fifth anniversary of the peace accord between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC-EP, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres on Tuesday visited a small mountainside village he described as a \u201claboratory of peace\u201d, where former combatants … Continue reading UN chief sees firsthand the progress and challenges five years after Colombia\u2019s historic peace deal<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,77,93],"tags":[20,94],"class_list":["post-25837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information","category-latin-america","category-united-nations","tag-latin-america","tag-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}