La Via Campesina Reiterates its Commitment for Peace in Colombia

(August 18, 2022) The international delegation of La Vía Campesina, a movement that brings together millions of peasant families, farmworkers, indigenous peoples, fishers, and social movement allies and academics, accompanied the people of Colombia from August 7 to 10, 2022 in witnessing the historic inauguration of Colombia’s new progressive government committed to peace.

Together with thousands of Colombian women and men, we enthusiastically saluted the new government amid colors, symbols and a longing for peace and stability and for leaving the armed violence in the past. We share these deep feelings of the country’s majority and support their wish that this new government implement the changes the country needs.

As international delegates accompanying the implementation of the Integrated Rural Reform, according to the provisions of article 6.4.2 of the Peace Accord, we recognize the importance of this new phase in the country’s peace process and reaffirm our commitment to it.

In this spirit, the delegates of La Via Campesina from Indonesia, France and Nicaragua travelled to Bogota from August 7 to 10, 2022, to meet with various social actors and authorities. Taking advantage of the new government and its willingness to build peace, we call on the national and international community to:

1. Create an agenda of alliances around the implementation of the Peace accord. The international accompaniment component of the implementation of Point 1 of the Accord needs to be strengthened. This component is made up of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UNDP (United Nations Development Program), the European Union and La Vía Campesina (LVC).
2. Surround and accompany the reforms called for in the Peace Accord that will allow for the materialization of the integrated rural reform, the democratic opening, ending the conflict, solving the illicit drug problem and providing reparations for the victims of the armed conflict.
3. Work in cooperation with the accompanying organizations to promote the respect of human rights, the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the governance of land, family agriculture and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants, benefitting people that are reincorporating and families that live in rural areas.
4. Accompany and promote the dialog process and the submission to justice of the different illegal armed groups that are still active in the country.

Let’s struggle for peace, social stability, the security of all citizens and food sovereignty of millions of families that live in the countryside, on the water and in the forests.

Globalize the struggle, globalize hope!!!

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