YouSaid · the spoken record

Blum de Barberi

lines on the record: 27
first: 2020-01-13
most recent: 2020-07-14
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“In the midst of the current global crisis, we will not slacken our efforts and will continue to devote all possible resources to convey the results that our citizens deserve.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“The Government strongly reiterates that this alleged willingness for peace must result in concrete action by the ELN, such as the release of all persons kidnapped and the cessation of any criminal activity. Let us be clear: the ELN failed to deliver on its March announcement, and there is no sign that it will deliver on this new announcement. The Colombian authorities will not cease carrying out their constitutional mission to protect our citizens from the terrorist and criminal threat that the group poses. The Government of President Iván Duque is firmly committed to building peace with legality. The support of the United Nations is vital in order to continue advancing in the stabilization and development of the territories most affected by violence and poverty.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“Within the framework of the agreement, a variety of sanctions and restorative actions have been defined according to the degree of collaboration and acknowledgement by those subject to the jurisdiction. The agreement also foresaw that sanctions compliance should be verified in order to safeguard victims’ rights. Our Government has initiated an inter-institutional coordination process in close cooperation with the Mission in order to design a system that will properly address this need once the Special Jurisdiction for Peace begins to deliver its sanctions. Lastly, I should like to refer to the active unilateral ceasefire announced by the ELN terrorist group on 29 March and its recent request for a bilateral ceasefire.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“The implementation of the agreement is a two- way process and requires the effective commitment of both the State and the FARC political party. My Government reiterates the need for UNVIC to demand FARC compliance with the provision of information regarding drug-trafficking groups, the location of missing persons, the delivery of assets that contribute to reparations for victims, the recruitment of children by dissident groups and the location of landmines, among other things. Our Government continues to provide support to the transitional justice system, including funding for all of its mechanisms. I must underline that there has not been, nor will there be, any reduction in the budget. The success of transitional justice depends on satisfying the rights of the victims, particularly in terms of justice, truth and reparation.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“We are now facing the toll for the silence kept during that period, in the face of a situation that created new threats to the most vulnerable communities, social leaders and human rights defenders. President Duque’s Government is strongly committed to reducing illicit crops and promoting crop-substitution options for communities. According to the most recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime monitoring system, in 2019 Colombia achieved a 9 per cent reduction in the area planted with coca. It was the second year with an area decline. Colombia will not achieve the desired peace if the illegal economy remains profitable. International cooperation and co-responsibility are essential to address this problem.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“So far there have been 198 arrest warrants issued for homicide, attempted murder and forced disappearance, including 51 for the identified instigators, as well as 27 convictions against those responsible for those crimes. From the results of the investigation, it is quite clear that the attacks are related to the complexity of the environment and the threat posed by organized armed groups involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining. Those criminal actors include non-reintegrated members of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) terrorist group and other groups engaged in transnational organized crime. We must not forget that the exponential growth in illicit crops occurred between 2013 and 2017.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“During the reporting period, we analysed in detail the security threats present in the municipalities of Ituango and Caldono. Our recommendations to establish safer locations for residents in those areas took time to be followed. Through close coordination between national and local authorities, with the support of the Mission, former combatants were relocated from Ituango to the municipality of Mutatá. The protection measures requested by female ex-combatants were also approved. As of 8 July, the Office of the Attorney General had advanced in the investigation of 146 of the 294 crimes registered since the signing of the agreement against ex-combatants and their familites. That represents progress in 49.7 per cent of the cases.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“The Agency for Reintegration and Normalization has adopted virtual mechanisms for attending to ex-combatants. In addition, the Agency for Territorial Renovation has held virtual meetings to reinforce the relationship between the central and regional authorities and to align the institutional offer with local planning instruments. The safety and protection of former combatants, human rights defenders, social leaders and communities remain our greatest challenge. The Government has articulated actions by 15 different agencies to strengthen prevention, individual and collective protection, and support for investigation and prosecution, all this with a comprehensive concept of security in the context of reintegration and a zero-tolerance policy against any irregular conduct by State agents.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“We continue to work with determination to support productive projects. The number of beneficiaries of the projects put in place in the first half of this year increased by 71 per cent as compared with the same period in 2019. Former territorial areas for training and reintegration are operating normally at the administrative level, and the Government has guaranteed the provision of the necessary goods, services and supplies. The food supply has been expanded, despite the fact that the legal status of those areas long ago expired. Monthly allowances continue to be awarded to ex-combatants residing inside and outside the territorial areas for training and reintegration. Digital connectivity has been strengthened to give access to education and technical assistance for productive projects.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“Confident of results being achieved, international support remains committed, In the regions where those development programmes are being implemented, during President Duque’s Administration 186 projects, worth $423 million, have been funded by royalties from oil and mining exploitation. Government agencies also continue to support 100,000 families that have expressed their willingness to abandon coca cultivation and transit to legality. In addition to the challenges posed by the implementation of the agreement and the response to the pandemic, Colombia continues to devote significant resources to assist 1.8 million Venezuelan citizens who have been forced to leave their country. The success and sustainability of the reintegration of former combatants is decisive in order to prevent new cycles of violence.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“The beneficiaries of these measures include former combatants, victims and farmers committed to the national programme for illicit crop substitution. In the former 24 territorial areas for training and reintegration, protocols are in place to prevent contagion and to ensure referrals to health centres when necessary, in close coordination with local authorities. We also continue to work hard on the approval and implementation of projects in the 170 municipalities most affected by poverty and violence where development programmes with a territorial focus are being carried out. Stabilization efforts are funded mainly by the national budget, complemented by other public and private funding, and international cooperation.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“Even in the context of this pandemic, we continue to be firmly committed to implementing the terms of the 2016 Final Agreement to End the Armed Conflict and Build a Stable and Lasting Peace in Colombia. We have not held back any areas of work that make up the “Peace with legality” policy. Its implementation is a priority of President Duque’s Government. The framework put in place by the agreement continues to function. The National Reintegration Council, as well as the various tripartite working groups, have met periodically. The Commission for the Follow- up, Promotion and Verification of the Implementation of the Final Agreement held six meetings during the reporting period. Measures for COVID-19 prevention and risk mitigation have been adopted by all agencies that are implementing the “Peace with legality” policy.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this meeting and for all the remarks and support of the members of the Security Council. I thank Secretary-General António Guterres and his Special Representative, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, for the report presented (S/2020/603) and for the commitment of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia. I also note the statement delivered by Ms. Clemencia Carabalí Rodallega at this meeting. Like all other countries, Colombia is facing enormous challenges posed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. My Government has implemented comprehensive measures to safeguard public health, provide support for the most vulnerable, preserve jobs and protect the welfare of our citizens.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“I note with satisfaction that the report recognizes President Duque’s openness in the national conversation and I trust that it will contribute to consolidating the progress achieved in our ever-challenging political and social context. I wish to reiterate before the Council today that the process of building “peace with legality” in Colombia is ongoing. The process is an irreversible one, but it requires the commitment and support of the Council and of the international community as attestations to the exceptional achievements and advances that have been made thus far. The meeting rose at 12.15 p.m.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“Social and non-governmental organizations have addressed various petitions to the State in the course of these demonstrations. Colombia guarantees the right to social protest as an expression of participatory democracy, which must be protected. In response to the demonstrations, President Duque launched a grand national conversation as a channel for communication between citizens and their institutions. By 31 December, 12 meetings had been held between representatives of the Government and more than 1,000 members of social organizations, leaders and experts in many fields in order to analyse proposals with a view to building a more just and equitable society.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“With the enactment of an economic growth law, between 2020 and 2022 approximately $900 million will be invested in building tertiary roads that will improve the connectivity of remote rural areas of the country with more developed centres. At the same time, the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition continues to be consolidated, with the increasingly active participation of victims. The necessary resources have been approved in our national budget for 2020 so that the three principal mechanisms of that system will be able to fulfil their mission independently. Finally, I wish to refer to the demonstrations that have taken place in the capital and other cities since 21 November, which are referred to in the report of the Secretary-General.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“The Government recognizes the challenges that the country faces and will continue to work with unwavering commitment to confront the criminal structures responsible for attacks on communities and individuals. The Secretary-General’s report mentions the importance of achieving comprehensive progress in other chapters of the 2016 agreement. Although the issue is not part of the Mission’s mandate, our Government has a comprehensive vision for that field. There are more than 500 action indicators that impact the construction of “peace with legality”, for example in terms of our comprehensive rural transformation. In the 17 months that our Government has been in power, 697,000 hectares have been incorporated into our land fund and 375,000 hectares have been regularized.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“A new meeting of the National Commission on Security Guarantees, led by President Duque Márquez, was held on 8 January, at which the Commission verified that the considerations of civil society were reflected in public policies on the dismantling of illegal armed groups and the protection of social leaders, former combatants and human rights defenders. The recent thwarting of a plan to assassinate the president of the FARC party is the result of the robust measures being taken by the Government. By the end of 2017, coca plantations had reached an unprecedented 200,000 hectares, but thanks to the State’s action since 2018, their growth has been halted. Some 100,000 hectares were destroyed in 2019, mainly through forced manual eradication programmes.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“Colombia ended 2019 with the lowest rate of kidnapping in its recent history, while homicides of social leaders decreased by 25 per cent compared to 2018. Such crimes nonetheless remain deplorable reminders that we cannot be complacent and must continue to work. For that reason, the State is taking systematic steps to speed up judicial investigations and develop comprehensive public policies to confront criminal organizations and strengthen prevention, early warning and protection. The special unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office assigned to investigate attacks on former combatants has already issued 51 arrest warrants against suspects and 23 sentences have been handed down, including in the cases of Alexander Parra Uribe and Dimar Torres mentioned in the Secretary-General’s report.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“At the national level, the Government has completed 641 additional projects under the plans. It is also essential to highlight the role of the private sector, which recognizes the economic benefits of stabilizing the territories concerned and is progressively investing in the areas most affected by violence and poverty. Other undeniable security challenges relate to illegal economies and associated crime, which we have not yet been able to eradicate from our country. We continue to suffer the consequences of criminal economies, in particular drug trafficking and illegal mining, which have historically fuelled violence. The Government is prioritizing the issue and working resolutely to address those threats, which affect former combatants, social leaders, ethnic populations, human rights defenders and vulnerable communities in general.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“Regarding the Mission’s second mandate, the report mentions various measures adopted by the State for the protection and security of the communities affected by violence but warns of the serious challenges that remain, several of which concern the need to consolidate the stabilization of the areas most affected by poverty and violence. That is where the projects under the “Peace with legality” policy become important. Pursuant to that policy, the Government has launched 16 development plans with a territorial focus, which cover the 170 municipalities most affected by violence and poverty. In the 17 months since the Government took office, 309 new projects have been approved for implementation by local authorities, at an investment cost of $500 million.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“Similarly, as mentioned in the report, the activities of the Gender Technical Working Group of the National Reintegration Council are noteworthy, as are the participation of young people. The Secretary-General also refers to the Government’s expectation that former FARC-EP members hand over their assets to provide reparations to victims and that they cooperate in locating anti-personnel mines and in establishing the truth. Those remains issues on which Colombian society expects answers. It is worth noting that the Verification Mission is paying greater attention to those issues, which are also part of the reintegration process.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“I am also pleased to announce that on 27 December, the Government approved the road map for social and economic reintegration agreed with FARC, which establishes a comprehensive, sustainable and transitional process that, based on institutional services, will guarantee the realization of the right of people in transit and their families to reintegration. We have taken note of the information provided by the Secretary-General on the accreditation of former combatants and a workplan has already been defined to analyse individual cases. The workplan enabled the accreditation of a further 99 individuals in December 2019, in addition to those included in the report, thus bringing the total number of accredited persons to 13,185.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“In addition, the State lifted the bans that could restrict the exercise of the vote or the candidature of former combatants and special protection measures for their candidates were put in place. That election day was more peaceful than in the past and reaffirmed the vitality and pluralism of Colombian democracy. In terms of economic and social reintegration, the 898 individual productive projects and 47 collective projects under way and access to employment have allowed more former combatants to generate their own income and not depend on State programmes. Ninety- nine per cent of former FARC members are affiliated with the health insurance scheme and 9,000 of them have had access to formal education and technical training.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“Among its many components, the policy includes decisive instruments for making progress on the two fronts examined by the Verification Mission, in accordance with its mandate — the reintegration of former FARC-EP members and security guarantees for communities in the areas most affected by the violence. With regard to the first mandate, concerning reintegration programmes, the Secretary-General has acknowledged the significant progress made by Colombia. The first-ever participation of the FARC party in the regional elections held last October and the election of some former combatants or candidates endorsed by them are evidence of the guarantee of the full integration of its members into political life.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“My Government appreciates the Mission’s participation in the national talks led by the President of the Republic on the policy of “Peace with legality”, as well as its independent assessments of the progress and challenges in that area. The policy of “Peace with legality” that the Government of President Iván Duque Márquez has been implementing is aimed at the realization of the constitutional right of Colombians to peace within the framework of the protection of the rule of law and is therefore a benchmark for the implementation of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace, signed in 2016 between the Government and the former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia — Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) guerrillas.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source
“Ms. Blum de Barberi (Colombia) (spoke in Spanish): Ten years after the earthquake that affected millions of people and changed their history, Colombia reaffirms its solidarity with the people of Haiti. We also express our sorrow for the victims of the violent events in the Niger. I thank the presidency of Viet Nam for convening this meeting and all Council members for their ongoing and unanimous support of Colombia. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General for his report (S/2019/988) and his Special Representative, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, for the significant work of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia under his leadership.”
2020-01-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8702 (2020) · source