“Colombia does not tolerate violations of human rights by the security forces”: Iván Duque before the UN Security Council

President Iván Duque, attended the United Nations Security Council in New York, on this occasion the Colombian leader explained different aspects of the implementation of the Peace Agreement, outlining his Peace with Legality policy and its development within the framework of his mandate.

Duque detailed different aspects in relation to the Agreement, noting that during his government period there was a circumstantial improvement with regard to its adaptation, noting that regarding the reintegration and possibilities that those reintegrated into society have had, the balance has been positive despite the criminal acts that have been spotted the execution of the process.

Similarly, the national president described Colombia as a country that embraces peace, and argued his affirmation, through article 22 and article two of the Political Constitution of Colombia, that peace becomes a duty and right of compulsory compliance in society.

Meanwhile, the president pointed out that, since his seizure of power and the signing of the Agreement, various threats perpetrated by armed groups such as the ELN, residual fractions of the FARC and drug trafficking organizations have persisted in the country, contexts that have been fought through the vision of Peace with Legality, which, according to Duque, allows to carry out accurate and effective implementation of the treaty before the community.

In turn, the president highlighted the role of victims in the political environment, taking into account the so-called peace seats in the face, to this he pointed out: “We have brought victims closer to having a voice and vote, political representation and influence in public decisions, supporting the regulation so that 16 victims are popularly elected in areas of greatest historical violence in the country, can be seated in the Congress of the Republic with a voice and vote as happened on March 13.”

The national scene shows an escalation of violence against social leaders and signatories of peace, as 52 leaders and 14 ex-combatants have been killed so far in 2022. In relation to those reinserted, the deaths already total 313 people killed after the signing of the agreement in 2016.

The leader of the Colombians explained that the latest reports from the Office of the Ombudsman point to a decrease in criminal acts against this demobilized population, however he stressed that they would work for more results in what remains of their governance, on this issue the president said: “This allows us to realize the security efforts that have been made, we cannot consider it a victory, because these incidents should not occur, but historically we have seen how the commitment to protect those who have been mobilized has brought results. It is sad to see how criminal hands continue to hurt this process, but let us also begin to recognize that, in these four years of our government, we have the lowest average homicide rate of a presidential term in more than 40 years, that is already an advance in our society.”

Despite the controversies, Iván Duque assured that in his government they are against any violation of human rights, however, it should be noted that in recent days there have been allegations both against his Minister of Defense, and his military leadership, for the operation in Putumayo that left 11 dead, including they would allegedly encounter several civilians, including a minor.

Regarding the action of the security forces, Duque said: “it is very important that Colombia continues to give certainty about the actions of its security forces, always in the light of International Humanitarian Law, always in the light of human rights and always ensuring that it is the supervisory bodies that can extract any situation from operational order, where they have taken action in what are known as urgent acts of the investigative service of our country”.

The president also stressed that they seek to establish all incidents that have violated the rights of uniformed persons in the context of the armed conflict, by opening the macro case before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, and also pointed out that he opposes any hostile act by the authorities, pointing out: “our nation has zero tolerance against any violation of human rights, by agents of the security forces, but it also has a public force that in the territory wins the affection of citizens, including those in the process of reinstatement to whom it provides protection.”

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