MIROSLAV JENČA
SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR COLOMBIA
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Remarks at the Security Council meeting on Colombia
21 April 2026
Mr. President,
It is a pleasure to brief the Security Council once again on the peace process in Colombia. This is an important moment in the political life of the country, following the recent holding of congressional elections and with presidential elections now only a month away.
It is an honor to participate alongside Her Excellency Rosa Villavicencio, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. I would like to thank the Government of Colombia for its ongoing cooperation with the Verification Mission and for the efforts recognized in the Secretary-General’s latest report to advance peacebuilding in the country.
It is also a pleasure to welcome Olga Quintero, a renowned peasant leader and advocate for peace in the Catatumbo region —an area that is emblematic of the complex conflict in Colombia and crucial to the consolidation of peace. She also exemplifies the important role that women have played in building peace in Colombia.
I am pleased that the Security Council is today resuming the good practice of including the voices of civil society in its meetings on Colombia.
Distinguished Delegates,
The holding of largely peaceful and more inclusive elections has been a feature of Colombia’s positive evolution under the Peace Agreement. It is essential for the country to stay on this trajectory.
Allow me to reiterate in this regard the Secretary-General's congratulations on the peaceful participation of the Colombian people in the legislative elections held in March. Despite concerns during the campaign period over incidents of violence and the presence of illegal armed groups in conflict-affected regions, adequate measures were taken and election day was not adversely affected by security incidents — a demonstration of Colombia’s strong institutions.
I commend the role played by security forces in protecting the vote, the vigilance exercised by national and international observers, and the valuable role also played by the Office of the Ombudsperson in monitoring conditions and in promoting adherence to the Commitment to a Free and Peaceful Electoral Process.
With the presidential campaign now in full swing ahead of elections on 31 May, the Mission is adding its voice to the call for authorities and all concerned to ensure a safe and peaceful environment, free of violence and stigmatization. I reiterate my condemnation of reported threats against presidential candidates, and I call again for State authorities to guarantee the safety of all participants in the electoral process.
The Verification Mission also stands ready to contribute once again —as it did during the congressional elections— to the exercises carried out by national authorities, some of them using mechanisms of the Peace Agreement, to analyse security risks and coordinate preventive actions. Ensuring the security of candidates and voters should continue to be the utmost priority.
Mr. President, Members of the Council,
The latest report of the Secretary-General traces implementation across the three pillars of the mandate, as established by the Security Council in resolution 2798 of last October: reintegration of former combatants; security guarantees; and comprehensive rural reform. They are three elements at the core of the Final Peace Agreement, whose implementation contributes to peace and security in the country.
We have fully restructured the Mission to reflect the refocused mandate and streamlined further in line with UN80 reductions. This has resulted in a substantially leaner configuration, while still enabling the Mission to maintain a suitable regional field presence, which is essential for effective verification, as well as engagement with local communities, authorities and peace signatories. Receiving, now, the resources approved in the budget is essential to delivering on the mandate across Colombia.
The realities on the ground vary from region to region, and ongoing conflict dynamics are highly complex. Although security has deteriorated in some parts of the country, previously neglected areas have also been afforded with new opportunities, made possible by the Peace Accord. In visits to Mission offices across this diverse landscape, what I see is close collaboration with Colombian stakeholders and counterparts, who strongly value its unique presence in the field.
Mr. President,
The efforts to expand access to land as part of the comprehensive rural reform are bringing hope —via the arrival of long-awaited dividends of peace— to marginalized regions and communities who suffered grievously during the armed conflict.
Behind the statistics we report on hectares delivered toward the numerical goals established in the Peace Agreement, are the people who are the beneficiaries on the ground, such as the members of a peasant community I visited in February in the Cesar Department, in northern Colombia. This was region engulfed in violence during the conflict, marked by massacres and widespread displacement of people from their land. Many members of this community I visited were direct victims, and so it was inspiring to see them recently receive a sizeable plot of land as part of the rural reform. Despite some practical challenges and security-related concerns, the community is setting down roots on this land, having established a school, begun building their own houses, and having launched fish-farming, corn and yuca growing projects. Women are prominent leaders of this community. While appreciative of the land, they still need further attention from the State to turn this opportunity into a sustainable future. This is one of 30 select cases of land adjudication in conflict-affected regions that the Mission is prioritizing in its verification.
Overall, progress has been made in recent years in providing access to land to numerous beneficiaries. However, continued efforts will be required to fulfil the objectives laid out in the rural reform. It is not only a matter of distributing land, but also ensuring its productivity, guaranteeing the safety of beneficiaries, and clarifying the legal ownership status of the plots. I wish to recognize the important step taken in this direction, with the enactment in March of a statutory law on the functioning of the Agrarian Jurisdiction. I am hopeful that this important entity —which is to address land-related disputes— will soon become fully operational through additional legislation that is pending adoption in Congress.
The rural reform also encompasses investments in local and regional development projects in conflict-affected areas known as the PDET regions —plans that were recently extended through 2037 by Congress—, as well as the implementation of sectorial plans to greatly expand state services over time, such as rural roads, education, health, irrigation, and electricity.
All told, as noted by the Secretary-General in his report, the Rural Reform is fundamental for consolidating lasting peace and security in Colombia. It aims to extend State presence and address inequalities that have fuelled conflict in the country for decades. By unlocking viable economic opportunities, it can also provide sustainable alternatives to illicit economies, thereby helping to break the cycle of violence.
Mr. President,
The laying down of arms by Latin-America’s oldest and largest guerilla group was not only a feat in and of itself, but so is the fact that, nearly ten years later, more than 11,000 men and women from the former FARC-EP remain actively engaged in their reintegration into society. This process has been repleted with challenges, however, given the fragile socioeconomic, infrastructural, and security conditions in rural areas where many former combatants have settled.
As reported by the Secretary-General, the provision of land and housing is progressing, though more still needs to be done to complete those tasks, to strengthen security guarantees and to ensure the sustainability of reintegration. The product of the hard work carried out by former combatants can be drastically affected when security conditions deteriorate. I hope that State entities, in acknowledgement of the perseverance of former combatants, will increase all efforts to ensure the conditions that would allow them to look to the future with confidence.
The political reintegration of the former guerrilla is also an essential part of the peace process, allowing for their peaceful participation in the democratic political life of the country. Following the results of the recent congressional elections, I would like to commend the Comunes Party for the constructive role its representatives played as legislators during a transitional period in which it held guaranteed seats in the Congress under the Peace Agreement. Although that provision has now expired, the former combatants, as one of the two signatory parties of the Peace Accord, maintain all associated responsibilities and functions. I strongly welcome the clear commitments expressed by its leaders to continue abiding by the Peace Agreement, working for its full implementation, and I look forward to their active role going forward.
Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Council,
Colombia remains today more peaceful than during peak years of the conflict. However, as we have reported extensively, a number of rural areas are still strongly impacted by the presence of illegal armed groups. Their ongoing clashes over territorial control and illicit economies are bringing violence and hardship to entire communities. We condemn, among others, their increased recruitment and use of children.
The Catatumbo region is a case in point of what is happening in such areas —its population caught in the middle of disputes by armed groups in one of the regions with the highest concentrations of coca in the country. During a visit there in January, in the aftermath of renewed clashes in the area, I visited a hamlet where homes had been heavily damaged in drone attacks between rival groups. Explosive hazards had been found near schools. Residents were fearful of landmines and raised concerns about the slow arrival of humanitarian assistance. As long as violence, territorial disputes, or governance vacuums persist in any part of the country, they risk undermining national stability and eroding the gains made elsewhere.
Through its presence and verification activities in conflict-affected regions, such as Catatumbo, the Mission is contributing to the detection of risks to communities and to the calls for timely and well-articulated responses by authorities to these risks. The Mission is also helping to give visibility to humanitarian and other needs that should be addressed under the Peace Agreement. The Mission is a regular participant in security guarantees mechanisms of, and related to, the Peace Agreement, that are important for addressing security needs of vulnerable groups in particular —including former combatants, women and those involved in the exercise of politics.
Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Council,
When the Council meets next on Colombia in July, elections will have concluded, and a new Government will be preparing to begin its term in August. Whoever assumes the presidency will face a formidable challenge in consolidating peace and security in the regions still affected by conflict.
As the Secretary-General reminds us in his latest report, the Peace Agreement provides a comprehensive roadmap for addressing both the root causes and consequences of the conflict, for bringing inclusive development to long-neglected regions where violence is still present —impacting its ethnic communities disproportionately— and for ensuring there is justice and redress for the victims. Significant progress has occurred over the years since the Agreement was signed, yet much remains to be done, and much can be achieved through focused efforts in the coming years.
The territories where the Agreement has not been sufficiently implemented are precisely where the most acute problems persist today. Stabilizing the regions still affected by conflict requires comprehensive implementation. And as the Secretary-General has also stated in his report, peace strategies and effective security actions can and should be carried out in complement with one another in order to produce the desired results.
The Security Council has been an essential partner to Colombia in the search for lasting peace and security. The Verification Mission stands ready to continue to assist the Colombians along this path. Despite the difficulties, it remains a path that is well worth following.
I thank you, Mr. President.
Download here the Report of the Secretary-General on the UN Verification Mission in Colombia S/2026/229
