Since 2012, the Colombian Government has been engaged in peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to end over 50 years of armed conflict. Agreement has been reached in four out of six thematic lines (Land, Political participation, Victims of Conflict and End of Conflict) established in the negotiation agenda. Negotiations are advancing and there are high expectations that a peace agreement will be signed during the first half of 2016.
An agreement was also reached between Government and the FARC to give a voice to the victims of the armed conflict. With support from the UN system, victims travelled to Havana and provided testimonies to negotiators. The process resulted in a 63-page document that addresses the re-establishment of the rights of victims.
Another important development occurred when the President of Colombia announced a potential signing of a final peace agreement in March of 2016. At the time of this announcement, the FARC committed themselves to a cease-fire within 60 days after the reaching of a peace agreement. The agreement is also likely to be submitted to a referendum for approval by the Colombian people.
In 2016, the main challenge of the Colombian Government will be to ensure the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC and its implementation, as well as the advance in the negotiation process with other armed groups, such as the ELN and the EPL, with whom exploratory talks were launched in 2014.
The need to take effective measures to mitigate the consequences of the demobilization processes is particularly important. It is vital to guarantee the protection of communities by retaking control of areas previously under the influence of these groups. In this regard, while supporting the implementation of the peace agreements with the FARC, one of UNHCR’s main challenges will be to ensure adequate visibility of the situations that continue to cause forced displacement, as well as promoting solutions for the communities affected.
Regarding refugees, during 2015 the Colombian Government issued 21 unique ruling decrees that gathered more than 10,000 norms. Decree 1067, the Unique Regulatory Decree of the Administrative Sector of Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), was one of the documents issued. Despite recommendations and UNHCR’s advocacy efforts, changes in relation to the refugee status determination and migration procedures were not incorporated in the document. Decree 1067/15 abrogated decrees 2840/13 (refugee status determination); 834/13, 4000/14 (migration procedures) and 1514/12 (travel documents).
The Colombian Government deposited the Convention of 1961, as opposed to that of 1954, as the latter does not provide for reservations on the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction. A legal framework aimed at implementing this convention has yet to be developed. The Nationality Coordination Team from the MFA has interest in moving forward with a legal initiative that will guarantee the access to nationality to children born of foreign parents in the Colombian territory and who are in irregular situation.