Peace deal with Colombia unlikely before end of Petro’s term-EMC rebel leader
San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia Reuters It will be difficult for the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) armed group to sign a peace deal with the Colombian government before President Gustavo Petro finishes his term in 2026, despite trust between the two sides, a major leader of the EMC told Reuters on the sidelines of peace […]
Colombia killings of social leaders, rights defenders hit new high
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Colombia will end the year with at least 199 killings of social leaders and human rights defenders, the highest level recorded, due to attacks by illegal armed groups in areas tied to the drug trade, the country’s human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday. In the first eleven months of the year, 199 people […]
Colombia’s next government must focus on tackling criminal groups, UN says
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Colombia’s next government must prioritise dismantling illegal armed groups and criminal gangs, a report from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday, with rising violence devastating rural communities. Violence in Colombia fell dramatically following the 2016 peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of […]
Colombia truth commission urges drug policy change to end violence
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Colombian leaders must recognize how drug trafficking has penetrated the country’s culture, economy and politics and how the global war on drugs is driving its internal armed conflict, Colombia’s truth commission said on Tuesday in a long-awaited report. The commission, established as part of a 2016 peace deal between the government and the […]
Updated: At least 23 killed in armed clashes in Colombia’s Arauca, government says
Updated: 12.30pm (AEDT)Bogota, ColombiaReuters Twenty-three people have been reported killed so far in Colombia’s Arauca province amid fighting between illegal armed groups, Defense Minister Diego Molano told a news conference late on Monday. Fighting broke out over the weekend in Arauca – which sits on the border with Venezuela – as members of the National […]
More than 18,000 children recruited by Colombia’s FARC rebels – court
Bogota, ColombiaReuters At least 18,667 children in Colombia were forced to join the now-demobilised FARC guerrilla group and subjected to abuses and treatment considered war crimes over a 20-year period, the country’s transitional justice court (JEP) said on Tuesday. The JEP’s investigation, which will see 26 former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia […]
Mothers of Colombia’s disappeared seek justice at war tribunal
Bogata, ColombiaThomson Reuters Foundation Mothers of young men and teenagers who say their sons were murdered by government soldiers during Colombia’s conflict begged a tribunal for answers on Thursday as the country investigates human rights atrocities committed during its war. Colombia’s five-decade war pitted leftist rebels against government forces and right-wing paramilitary groups. Some 200,000 […]
PHOTO ESSAY: IN THE SHADOWS OF PEACE – CHURCHES ACCOMPANY FRAGILE LIFE IN RURAL COLOMBIA
In a special report for Sight, ALBIN HILLERT reports on how churches in Colombia are helping former rebels transition from a life of guerrilla warfare to peaceful co-existence with local communities…
UN raises concerns over killing of human rights defenders in Colombia
Thomson Reuters Foundation Dozens of human rights defenders in Colombia are being gunned down, including rising numbers of women, despite a peace accord ending half a century of civil war, the United Nations said on Friday, urging the government to punish those responsible. A peace deal between the government and the left-wing rebel Revolutionary Armed […]