A peace deal has been agreed between the Colombian Government and the largest group of guerrilla rebels, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The deal, reached on Wednesday in Havana, Cuba, brings an end to more than 50 years of conflict – the longest internal armed conflict in the western hemisphere.
“This is a great day for Colombia”, said Clare Dixon, CAFOD’s Head of Latin America. “The end of the armed conflict is near, and we hope this deal will bring an end to the violence and fear that has devastated the lives of over 7 million people, particularly those living in rural areas; farming communities, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Peoples,” she said.
The deal is the result of peace talks that have been taking place between FARC and the Colombian Government since October 2012, and follows the bilateral ceasefire announced on 23 June this year. Ms Dixon called the agreement “a major step forward on what will be a long road to peace in Colombia”.
Sergio Coronado, Deputy Director of Colombia’s Centre for Research and Popular Education, a Jesuit-founded organisation that works with CAFOD, also tempered his celebration with reminders of the work still to be done.
“We are celebrating this news… although we still face many challenges before we can say Colombia is a country at peace,” he said.
The deal will need to be approved by Colombians in a popular vote, scheduled for 2 October. After that, said Coronado, “each of the six agenda items [must be] implemented, and institutions strengthened to ensure its implementation and the security of both those who have decided to lay down their arms with this deal, as well as the people who have lived in territories that until now have been under their control.” Sergio Coronado said.
In the past 50 years, the conflict has killed over 220,000 people. More than 45,000 are missing, over 6 million have been displaced, and thousands have been subjected to sexual violence.
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