Colombia’s President Duque committed to keep peace agreement with FARC alive | Opinion

Though facing the staggering of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Venezuelan migrant crisis, President Iván Duque’s administration has made great strides in Colombia’s push to implement the historic 2016 peace agreement with the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Duque is fully committed to implementing the plan for peace and ensuring that resources vital to progress in this effort remain fully intact — despite the budgetary pressures of the pandemic and those brought on by caring for the influx of 1.8 million Venezuelans fleeing the criminal Maduro regime.

Amid these daunting challenges, Colombia has doubled protections for ex-FARC combatants who are now part of the peace process and has maintained full support for those who are in the process of voluntarily replacing illicit crops with legitimate agricultural products.

At its most recent quarterly meeting, the United Nations Security Council, which monitors the implementation of the peace plan, applauded Colombia’s significant advances in peace implementation in the face of challenging circumstances.

Peace cannot be fully achieved without ending the scourge of illegal drugs. The two priorities are inextricably linked. That is why Duque has taken a comprehensive approach that utilizes every tool at our disposal to combat drug production and trafficking. With help from our American allies, we are seeing real progress in this shared health and security priority — and advances made against the illegal drug trade will only benefit our plan for peace.

Despite inheriting a poorly planned and underfunded national program to support families in substituting illicit crops, the Duque administration has achieved the voluntary eradication of over 37,000 acres of coca. Further, nearly 75,000 families are receiving payments for immediate food assistance, and nearly 60,000 families are receiving supplies and tools for self-sufficiency and food security. The administration has invested more than $200 million in the key components of the program.

We also have opened new strategies of voluntary crop substitution and engaged the private sector and international community in these efforts.

Duque’s central focus in implementing the peace agreement has always been, and will continue to be, the victims, demonstrated by countless acts and achievements by, among others, the Victims Unit and the Land Restitution Unit.

With this in mind, the time has come — nearly four years after signing the peace agreement — to set a date for today’s FARC political party to meet its obligation to deliver ill-gotten goods for the restitution of its victims. That, of course, should in no way be viewed as an affront to the nearly 13,000 ex-combatants who remain faithful to the process and to the law.

This government has made it clear that the safety of ex-combatants and their families is a top priority. At the direction of the president, Colombian officials are working jointly with all state security and law-enforcement entities on more than 30 special security and protection initiatives delivered to the territories to live up to our commitment to them. The safety of the nearly 3,000 people who remain in these territories is being protected by more than 4,000 police and army personnel. Where cases of violence have occurred, Colombia’s special investigative unit, led by the Office of the Attorney General, has moved with speed to identify and pursue suspects.

The safety of members of the FARC political party is also of top concern. Despite claims to the contrary, Colombia has not requested that ex-FARC commanders be excluded from politics. Rather, in the 2019 elections, 117 FARC party candidates were provided protection to run for office.

This government understands its historic responsibility to build lasting peace in Colombia. Resources for the implementation of the peace agreement are being used in the most efficient way possible to advance this cause. In fact, many of the government’s actions have far exceeded the commitments outlined in the historic peace accords.

We are committed to ending decades of hatred and rancor through sensible, fair and just policies. When it comes to peace, nothing will deter us. We do not play politics with peace.

Emilio J. Archila is presidential adviser for the Stabilization and Consolidation of Colombia.