Colombia asks UN to stop monitoring rural reform under its peace mission
Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula asked the UN Security Council to remove rural reform from the mandate of its peace-agreement verification mission. He wants monitoring of former combatants’ reintegration and security guarantees to continue. Bula argued that permanent Colombian institutions should oversee the long-term reform, while the UN mission chief stressed its place in implementing the 2016 agreement.
Geopolitics··Morning
Bula seeks a narrower UN verification mandate
Colombia’s Foreign Minister Omar Bula asked the United Nations Security Council on 12 October to remove comprehensive rural reform from the mandate of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia. The council was considering the mission’s quarterly report on implementation of the peace agreement. Bula proposed that international verification continue for former combatants’ return to civilian life and their security guarantees. Rural reform entered the mission’s mandate in 2023. His request concerns the scope of international monitoring while retaining the mission, and requires a decision by the Security Council.[1], [2]
The government puts long-term reform with permanent institutions
Bula described rural reform as a structural policy spanning several sectors and extending over the long term. He argued that it belonged within Colombia’s permanent institutions rather than the scope and duration of a special verification mission. The proposal was prepared with the Agriculture Ministry. The minister said Colombia had the legal and institutional tools to continue policies on access to land, formalisation of ownership and productive development. Infrastructure and economic opportunities also formed part of the responsibilities he described. He said changing the verification mechanism would leave the state’s substantive commitments and support from partners intact.[1], [2]
UN mission chief stresses rural reform’s role in security
UN mission chief Miroslav Jenča described a grave security situation in Colombia’s regions at the same meeting. He said rural reform improved communities’ living conditions and opportunities, strengthened public services and expanded the state’s presence. Legal security over land ownership mattered for development and investment, he added. Bula reaffirmed Colombia’s commitments to the 2016 agreement between the state and the former armed group FARC. He nevertheless called for reassessment of implementation results and presented security as a prerequisite for peace. Colombia submitted its request for mandate changes at the meeting, without an announcement that they had been adopted.[1], [2]
Bula thanked the United Nations for nearly a decade of support and reiterated respect for international law and multilateral commitments. He said the government remained open to initiatives that genuinely brought armed organisations to surrender their weapons. While groups continued violence, he said Colombia would act with the instruments provided by its constitution and laws. His proposal was prepared with the agriculture ministry, within that stated approach to security and implementation of the agreement.[1], [2]
