A3+ statement delivered by Her Excellency Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the UN, at the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Colombia

Mr. President,

1. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the A3+, namely Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and my own country, Guyana.

2. We thank SRSG Carlos Ruiz Massieu for his briefing and commend him and the UN Monitoring and Verification Mission team in Colombia for their invaluable work.

3. We have also listened carefully to civil society representative Armando Valbuena (IANPE).

4. We welcome the participation of His Excellency Mr. Luis Gilberto Murillo, Minister for Foreign Affairs in today’s meeting and take this opportunity to thank him, and, through him, the government and people of Colombia for their warm hospitality during the visit of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict last month. We also welcome the participation of Mr. Diego Tovar Henao, representative High Contracting Party of the Peace Agreement.

Mr. President,

5. The A3+ is encouraged by the continued progress in implementing the 2016 Peace Agreement. Despite some setbacks, we are pleased to note that the positive momentum has continued and we echo the Secretary General’s assessment that Colombia is a valuable source of knowledge and experience in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

6. The intensification of efforts to advance comprehensive rural reform and boost land adjudication and formalization is a welcome development, even as we recognize there is much more to be done to achieve the target set, especially with respect to adjudication. We also welcome the recent reintegration of 12,000 former combatants. We encourage the relevant authorities to continue developing and implementing measures that enable the sustainable transition of former combatants into society, which is critical to building trust and consolidating peace.

7. While acknowledging ongoing efforts, we see opportunities to accelerate progress on implementing the Ethnic Chapter of the Peace Agreement. We also encourage the government to redouble its efforts to address impediments to the effective implementation of this Chapter and its gender provisions. We note that there has been limited progress on fulfilling the commitments in the Pact and hope to see greater progress ahead of the 2026 deadline. We also hope to see an acceleration of progress in collective reparations for ethnic communities, which will no doubt contribute to healing and reconciliation. We are optimistic that the rapid response plan designed to expedite the implementation of the Agreement will produce positive outcomes for the Ethnic Chapter. In this context, the A3+ endorses the idea that the Ministry of the Interior's rapid response plan can be enhanced by incorporating provisions related to gender and the priorities of the Ethnic Chapter.

8. On the issue of the gender provisions of the Agreement, the A3+ has taken positive note of the signing of the inter-institutional agreement to promote compliance with the gender provisions and welcomes the launch of the Women Peace and Security Action Plan. We continue to emphasize the need for adequate funding to be made available to ensure its proper implementation.

Mr. President,

9. Another fundamental issue of concern for the A3+ is the ongoing recruitment of children by armed groups. The A3+ firmly condemns the recruitment and use of children by armed groups and notes that there has been an increase in this activity over the reporting period. We demand an immediate end to such practices and underscore the need for full adherence to international law. Ensuring accountability for crimes against children is an important step to guaranteeing justice. To this end, we welcome recent efforts to strengthen legal frameworks for child protection in Colombia, including the recent legislation on child marriages and adoption of the Bogota Call to Action. We urge the government to continue these efforts and to prioritize child protection in peace dialogues.

10. Moreover, we remain deeply concerned about high instances of conflict-related sexual violence and gender-based violence, including against children and adolescents in reintegration areas. We emphasize the need for early warning systems to be put in place to identify security risks and facilitate urgent and timely follow-up mechanisms without delay.

11. We acknowledge the updates made to the UN Verification Mission’s guidelines on addressing sexual and gender-based violence in line with resolution 2754 (2024) and believe that this will contribute significantly to the effort to address the issue of violence against children comprehensively.

Mr. President,

12. Another issue of grave concern for the A3+ relates to the ongoing threats and attacks by armed groups, which have led to increased displacement of civilians in different parts of the country and promotes confinement. Indigenous and Afro-Colombians are bearing the brunt of the violence, which continues to impede peace efforts.

13. The A3+ welcomes the recent progress made on the public policy plan to dismantle armed groups and commends the launch of the territorial plan for the policy’s implementation in Northern Cauca in December 2024. The approval of the regulations governing the High-Level Unit of the Comprehensive Security System for the Exercise of Politics is an important step in improving coordination. We wish to underline that this must go hand in hand with increased state presence in affected regions.

14. The limited state presence in some territories continues to pose a serious risk to peace efforts and must be addressed as a matter of priority. We also urge the Colombian Government to continue its efforts to promote peace through active dialogue with all relevant stakeholders.

Mr. President,

15. In this context, the A3+ condemns the recent killing of over 80 persons in Catambuo and remains gravely concerned about the rupturing of the peace talks between the government and the ELN. We recognize Colombia’s deep-rooted conviction that dialogue is the only way forward and strongly urge the ELN to show renewed proof of its commitment to peace.

16. We commend the progress made by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and encourage the issuance of the long-awaited sentences. We further reiterate the need for effective coordination between all relevant entities and acknowledge the Government’s commitment to allocating $20 million for the current year and providing additional necessary resources toward this endeavour. The need for legal certainty for those under the jurisdiction of the SJP is paramount.

17. The A3+ acknowledges that the issue of financing is critical to the overall implementation of the peace agreement. We call on the Colombian Government and the legislature to ensure the provision of adequate finances, and on the international community to support Colombia in this regard.

18. As I conclude, Mr. President, I wish to once again express the firm support of the A3+ to the government and people of Colombia for the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement and reiterate our call for support at all levels to ensure comprehensive implementation. Let me also applaud the work undertaken by the UN Verification Mission in Colombia during the past year and thank the Mission for its continued efforts to support the implementation of the Peace Agreement.

I thank you.