BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia should speed the dismantling of armed groups to reduce violence and human rights violations, and implement the country’s 2016 peace accord with the FARC rebels, the in-country representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday.
Colombia’s nearly six decades of armed conflict between the armed forces, leftist rebels, right-wing paramilitaries and crime gangs have killed at least 450,000 people.
“We have seen the effect of violence by armed groups in the regions and that’s why we call so often for a policy of dismantlement,” said U.N. official Juliette de Rivero, during the presentation of the body’s annual report on human rights in Colombia.
President Gustavo Petro has vowed to end the conflict by inking peace or surrender deals with remaining rebels and crime gangs and by fully implementing the FARC accord
His government has restarted peace talks with the ELN rebels and agreed ceasefires with crime gangs and two FARC dissident factions.
Killings of community leaders and social activists rose to 116 in 2022, according to the U.N. report, from 100 the year before.
Mass killings also rose to 92 incidents with 321 victims last year, compared with 78 incidents in 2021.
More than 82,800 people were displaced in 2022, the report said, though it was unclear how many remained away from their homes.
Armed groups forcibly recruited 115 children, 12 of whom suffered sexual violence, the report added.
De Rivero said state presence must expand to rural areas where people lack education, healthcare and roads if Colombia is to reduce violence.
The comments echoed those made during a visit in January by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who said Colombia must also strengthen rule of law.
“There is a need for the state to be present in remote areas where human rights are violated,” de Rivero said.
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Richard Chang)
