Colombia
Expected Council Action
In October, the Security Council is expected to hold its quarterly meeting on Colombia. Miroslav Jenča—who was appointed Special Representative and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia on 8 September and is expected to assume his post in the country in mid-October—will provide his first briefing in this role. He will brief on recent developments in Colombia and the Secretary-General’s latest 90-day report on the mission (S/2025/595), which was circulated to Council members on 24 September and covers the period from 27 June.
The Council is also expected to discuss the renewal of the verification mission’s mandate ahead of its 31 October expiry.
Key Recent Developments
As in the past, the most recent Secretary-General’s report paints an uneven picture of implementation of the 2016 Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace between the government of Colombia and the former rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP). While the report describes some progress in comprehensive rural reform, implementation continues to lag in other areas such as the provision of security guarantees and the reintegration of former combatants.
A major development in the past quarter relates to the work of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP)—the judicial component of the Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Non-Repetition established by the 2016 agreement. On 16 September, the SJP announced its first restorative sentences within Case 01 (on hostage-taking, other severe deprivations of liberty and concurrent crimes committed by the FARC-EP) against the seven members of the last FARC-EP Secretariat for “the kidnapping policy they spread throughout the country, resulting in at least 21,396 victimizing incidents”. Soon after, on 18 September, the Court announced the first restorative sentences within Case 03 (on killings and forced disappearances presented as combat casualties by state agents) against 12 members of the public security forces for “their maximum responsibility in 135 murders and forced disappearances presented as combat casualties” in the Caribbean region.
The indictees in both cases acknowledged responsibility for crimes committed during the conflict and received a sentence of eight years—the maximum outlined in the 2016 peace agreement—of restorative activities as well as restrictions on their rights and freedoms. (Those who refuse to acknowledge responsibility for crimes are subject to the Colombian penal code and may face imprisonment of up to 20 years.) According to the SJP, such activities, which are aimed at benefitting victims and conflict-affected communities, will include work related to the search for missing persons, humanitarian demining, environmental protection, and memorialisation projects. The sentences are subject to appeal by all relevant parties; the first such appeal regarding Case 01 was filed by families of victims on 19 September.
In a 17 September statement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the issuance of the SJP’s first sentences, describing it as a “historic milestone” in the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement. He called on all indictees to fully comply with their sentences, and for the Colombian government to ensure that conditions are in place for the sentences to be implemented. In this regard, the Secretary-General’s report outlines challenges related to funding, the design of restorative projects, and security risks faced by relevant actors. It notes that, despite the expressed commitment by the government to support the implementation of the sentences, “preparations to date remain largely insufficient”.
The Secretary-General’s report describes how violence across several regions in the country continues to affect communities (including indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities), former FARC-EP members, human rights defenders, and social leaders. In these areas, armed groups compete for control of illegal economies amid limited state presence. The report references several serious security incidents, including an instance in late August in the southern department of Guaviare, where 33 Colombian soldiers were held against their will for three days by local residents. The incident took place amid military operations targeting armed groups and illicit crops in the area, with Colombian authorities accusing the general staff of the dissident group of the former FARC-EP that identifies itself as the Estado Mayor Central Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (EMC) of pressuring civilians to resist the presence of state forces in the area. The soldiers were released on 28 August; the verification mission helped facilitate the release alongside Colombian authorities.
During the reporting period, the verification mission documented nine killings and two attempted homicides of former combatants, bringing to 480 the number of ex-combatants killed since the signing of the peace agreement. The report stresses the importance of implementing the security guarantees provisions of the 2016 agreement, including the public policy to dismantle illegal armed groups and criminal organisations, which the National Commission on Security Guarantees (NCSG)—a body established by the agreement—developed and presented in September 2023. The NCSG has not convened a plenary session in over a year, according to the report. The report adds that this issue has taken on greater urgency in light of concerns about a potential spike in political violence as Colombia prepares for congressional and presidential elections in March and May 2026, respectively. This is underscored by the assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, who passed away on 11 August after succumbing to gunshot wounds sustained in a 7 June attack, as well as other threats and attacks targeting political leaders. In this regard, the report urges strategic use of the Comprehensive Security System for the Exercise of Politics (SISEP) to ensure that adequate security measures are in place.
The government has continued some of its dialogues with armed groups operating in the country as part of the “total peace” policy of Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego. Between 14 and 17 September, the government held its first round of talks with the Ejército Gaitanista de Colombia (EGC)—a group formerly known as Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia or Clan del Golfo—in Doha, Qatar. The talks resulted in several commitments from the armed group, including not to interfere in the elections, to respect international humanitarian law, and not to hinder humanitarian demining. Some analysts have argued, however, that an ongoing offensive led by the EGC in the southern Bolívar department calls into question the group’s commitment to those pledges.
Human Rights-Related Developments
On 17 September, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk welcomed the first sentences issued by the SJP, describing them as a “crucial milestone on the path to accountability”. He further stressed that the government must now provide the legal, financial, and security conditions to ensure the effective implementation of the restorative sentences.
While recognising the progress, Türk cautioned that Colombia continues to face serious human rights challenges, including the killing of human rights defenders, recruitment of children by non-state armed groups, and violations disproportionately affecting indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and women. He underlined the importance of sustaining implementation of the 2016 peace accord, noting that peace processes “rarely follow a smooth or straightforward path” but require sustained commitment to prevent further violations and suffering.
Key Issues and Options
A key task for the Council in October is to renew the verification mission’s mandate. Members could choose to adopt a straightforward renewal, without altering the mission’s tasks. They could also consider whether any adjustments are needed.
Supporting transitional justice processes in Colombia is a key focus for many Council members. The long-awaited handing down of sentences by the SJP marked the culmination of a rigorous years-long process of investigations, collection of evidence, and the hearing of testimonies from victims. International interlocutors had anticipated this process to begin as far back as 2021; in that year, the Council expanded the verification mission’s mandate through resolution 2574 of 11 May to verify compliance with the restorative sentences.
Support from the international community is crucial during this potentially polarising stage in the Court’s work, especially as Colombia prepares for presidential and congressional elections in 2026. The SJP’s president, Judge Alejandro Ramelli, made this point to Council members at a 16 July informal meeting. Council members may therefore wish to convey their support for the SJP and the verification mission’s role in verifying the sentences handed down by the Court. Since this innovative transitional justice model can serve as an example in other contexts and transitional justice is an issue of importance to many member states, an option would be to do so in a press stake-out, together with non-Council members.
Council members can also seek the views of relevant actors in Colombia—such as SJP representatives and victims’ organisations—on how the international community can support transitional justice processes in the country. An option would be to hold such a discussion in an informal interactive dialogue (IID), a closed informal meeting format that could allow for a frank exchange of ideas.
An overarching priority for the Council remains supporting the full implementation of the 2016 peace agreement. Members may wish to continue emphasising the importance of continued focus on that objective in the remainder of Petro’s term, which ends in August 2026.
Council Dynamics
Council members have generally been united in their support for the peace process in Colombia and for the verification mission’s work.
However, recent strains in the bilateral relationship between Colombia and the US may complicate the Council’s work on the file, including during the upcoming negotiations on the renewal of the verification mission’s mandate.
On 15 September, Washington designated Colombia as a country that failed to cooperate fully with the US in drug control efforts, de-certifying it as a partner in the war on drugs for the first time in almost 30 years. According to analysts, the de-certification declaration—which directly blamed Petro for mismanaging drug control efforts while commending the work of Colombia’s security institutions and municipal authorities—signalled both US dissatisfaction with the government’s current coca crop eradication policy and the personal antagonism between Petro and US President Donald Trump. The US similarly personally criticised Petro in its statement during the Council’s latest quarterly meeting on Colombia, held on 18 July. At that meeting, the US claimed that “errant political leadership” threatens to undermine progress made to date in peace efforts in the country, while arguing that “the Colombian Government’s disorganized rush to negotiate with a multitude of armed groups has in fact created perverse incentives for these groups to ramp up their attacks in an effort to improve their negotiating position”.
In the most recent sign of the fraying relationship between Colombia and the US, Petro’s 23 September statement at the General Debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly sharply criticised Trump’s domestic and foreign policy, including the decision to de-certify Colombia, US support for Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, and US airstrikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea. The US delegates left the General Assembly Hall during Petro’s speech. On 27 September, the US Department of State announced its decision to revoke Petro’s US visa over comments he made at a pro-Palestinian gathering in New York. The recent developments could also signal future difficult dynamics once Colombia joins the Council as a non-permanent member in 2026.
The UK is the penholder on Colombia.
| Security Council Meeting Records | |
| 18 July 2025S/PV.9961 | This was the Council’s quarterly meeting on Colombia, held on 18 July 2025. |
