Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at the UNSC briefing on Colombia
Exellencies,
We thank Special Representative of the Secretary General Carlos Ruiz Massieu for his report on the situation in Colombia and the work of the UN Verification Mission in the country. We welcome the participation in today's meeting of the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, as well as the representative of the High Contracting Party, Diego Tovar.
We are pleased to note that the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) is regaining its legitimate central position in the discourse by the Colombian Government as well as in our discussion in the UN Security Council. We regard it as a proof that there are no alternatives to the FPA as the main pillar of the entire peacebuilding process in Colombia. The taking on by the State and specifically by the head of State of the responsibility for implementing the agreements is a mature and wise step, and we can’t but welcome it.
We see the real efforts by Bogota in this area, which was noted, inter alia, in Secretary General’s report and in today's statement by his Special Representative. We hope that they will help to overcome the challenges, which persist virtually in all areas of FPA implementation. For example, it is important that the pace of FPA implementation of the agrarian reform as a key provision of the agreement be increased and drug replacement agriculture programs developed.
Another pressing issue is ensuring the reintegration and safety of ex-combatants. A case in point is the recent forced displacement of former FARC members from the former zone for training and reintegration in Miraville due to threats coming from the EMC. This egregious development occurred in the same Caquetá department, where Council members recently saw with their own eyes a very successful example of ex-combatants returning to a peaceful life in another reintegration zone under the leadership of today's briefer Diego Tovar. We call for guarantees for the signatories of the agreement, which can be achieved only by consolidating the role of state bodies in the conflict-affected regions.
We realize that listing problems is easier than resolving them, all the problems are well known to the Colombian leadership. The Security Council had an opportunity to see this firsthand in the course of our visit to Colombia in February. However, we need to state here that unlike the previous Administration, which instead of implementing agreements was involved in openly undermining them, the current Government under the leadership of Gustavo Petro is trying to find ways to overcome them.
We will carefully study the report on the FPA implementation. We believe that it is the responsibility of Colombian society to determine the specific modalities for overcoming the challenges mentioned by the President and to decide on the feasibility of the changes. The goal of the Council is to independently and impartially monitor the compliance with the spirit and the letter of the agreement endorsed by the Security Council resolution, and to provide the best possible international assistance to the efforts of the parties to implement it.
We sincerely hope that the heightened political differences will not shift the focus from the agenda of implementing the practical measures related to the FPA. This also applies to the controversy surrounding the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. We call on the parties to engage in dialogue with a view to addressing each other’s concerns while preserving the independence of this very important body of transitional period justice.
We monitor the progress of the Government's dialogue with other groups within the framework of the "total peace" policy. It is encouraging that the ceasefire regime with the National Liberation Army (NLA) is generally being observed. An important role here is being played by the Ceasefire Verification and Monitoring Mechanism with the key participation of the UN Verification Mission. At the same time, we can see difficulties in reaching political agreements both with the NLA and with the EMC, whose significant part withdrew from dialogue with the Government. We hope for positive yields from another round of negotiations with the EMC. We welcome the start of the peace process with the Segunda Marquetalia group; the success here could become an example for other negotiation tracks.
We have reiterated that this dialogue and other peace initiatives of Bogotá need to be carried out with an understanding of the primacy of the FPA and in line with it. Today's historic meeting, attended by both parties to the agreement, is the right step in that direction. The true symbol of the Colombian people's desire for reconciliation can now be also seen in the garden of UN Headquarters.
For its part, Russia will continue to provide all possible support for the peace process in Colombia and for the work of UNMIC under the leadership of Carlos Ruiz Massieu.
I thank you for your attention.
