Colombian Peace Process: Successes, Failures, and Recommendations

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the Colombian peace process, examining its historical context, key actors, and the evolution of negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC. It delves into the history and ideology behind the conflict, the objectives of the peace activities, and the specific details of the negotiations. The essay assesses the strengths and successes of the process, such as the reduction in violence and the increase in tourism, while also addressing the limitations and weaknesses, including the fragility of the peace and the ongoing armed conflicts in certain areas. Furthermore, the essay explores the role of UN peacekeeping operations in protecting civilians and offers recommendations for improving the process, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to achieve lasting peace and address the challenges that remain. The essay concludes by highlighting the importance of the peace agreement and its potential impact on the country's future.

Running Head: COLOMBIAN PEACE PROCESS
Colombian Peace Process
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
History and Ideology...............................................................................................................2
The peace activity....................................................................................................................3
The concept and negotiations..................................................................................................4
Objectives and Description......................................................................................................5
Analysis of the Peace Process..................................................................................................7
Strengths /success....................................................................................................................7
Limitations/weaknesses...........................................................................................................8
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................9
The deployment of UN peacekeeping operations to protect the civilians...............................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference.......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
It is seen in countries and groups that in spite of an increase in the conflict resolution
activities, the violent conflicts do occur that disrupt the peace. The reconciliation activities might
remain elusive even after the implementation of the agreements in full swing. It can be said that
the peace agreements and the negotiation processes are essential to finish the immediate violence
in the economic, social and political sphere for ultimate conciliation. In this regard, the
conciliation resources are the effective peace approaches which strengthen the unstable
condition1. Hence, the peace process is nothing but a series of initiatives which are specially
designed to end the armed conflict and restore peace. The paper will begin with an introduction
that stares the purpose of the paper along with the main arguments. Having outlined the relevant
history of Colombia, it will define the concept of the peace activity, objectives and description.
Finally, the report will conclude by assessing the strengths and limitations of the activity and
conclude by providing an overview of the findings.
Discussion
History and Ideology
The Colombian peace process is an agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC-EP) and the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos in
1 García, J., 2017. The UN's new role in Colombia can strengthen the peace process during its
most vulnerable phase. LSE Latin America and Caribbean Blog.

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order to finish the Colombian conflict. In the year 2012, negotiations began for the first time in
Cuba, Havana2. The delegation and installations of dialogue began in this year. There have been
other peace processes too in the past of Colombia. However, the present peace process started
with the properly defined agenda along with a few number of issues where the weapons
surrendering of guerrilla was listed on the top. This has been considered as the end goal
according to this process. The challenges included many public concerns too and the back
supporters of the agreement are hopeful enough that the it will lead towards a sustainable peace3.
The peace activity
In the later part of the 1960s, the FARC and the National Liberation Army was founded
after a long continuation of the political violence which is known as la Violencia (1948-58)4. The
communist guerrillas marched against the government being excluded from a power –sharing
agreement which ended up the fighting. The FARC comprised of peasant self-defense groups
and the militants too whereas the National Liberation Army ranks were subdued by the students
and few of the Catholic radicals. These entities hoped to replicate the communist revolution of
2 Cfr.org (2019). Colombia’s Civil Conflict. [online] Council on Foreign Relations. Available at:
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/colombias-civil-conflict [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
3 Aljazeera.com (2019). UN: 85 FARC members killed in Colombia since peace deal. [online]
Aljazeera.com. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/190101080210851.html
[Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
4 Colombiapeace.org (2019). Colombia Peace. [online] Colombia Peace. Available at:
http://colombiapeace.org/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].

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Fidel Castro. The FARC group had been designated by the U.S state department as a foreign
organization of the terrorists.
The aim of FARC is to protest the privatization of the natural resources. They also
represent the poor people and are dead against of the wealthy people of the country. History
witnesses the assassination by FARC of a culture minister in the year 2001 along with its acts of
hijacking a commercial domestic flight in the year 20025. A senator was also kidnapped during
this period. An assumption of Colombia’s National Center for Historical Memory suggest that
twenty-five thousand people were kidnapped by the guerrilla groups through the years 1970 and
2010. There are evidences of more than ten thousand people who have been either killed or
maimed by the landmines planted by the FARC.
The concept and negotiations
In the year 2000, the lawmakers of the U.S approved the Plan Colombia inn order to
support the county to fight against the violence caused by the guerrilla people, stem the
production of drug and trafficking along with strengthening the institutions6. The Plan Colombia
became instrumental in paving way for the next peace talks and the contribution of the U.S is
significant. It is more than $10 billion for the beginning of Plan Colombia. The United States if
5 En.escambray.cu (2019). ELN Announces Ceasefire, Asks to Resume Peace Talks – Escambray.
[online] En.escambray.cu. Available at: http://en.escambray.cu/2018/eln-announces-ceasefire-
asks-govt-to-resume-peace-talks/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
6 Smilde, D. and Pantoulas, D., 2016. The Venezuelan crisis, regional dynamics and the
Colombian peace process. Norway: Norwegain Peacebuilding Resource Centre.

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one of the largest trading partners of Colombia ad there is also a free trade agreement which has
come into force in the year 2012 between the two.
Later in the year 2002, Alvaro Uribe became elected by the Colombians who fought gaits
the guerrillas and the violence dropped dramatically through his administration. There was also
significant reduction in the kidnaping instances and homicides too. During the administration of
Uribe the FARC agreed for negotiations because they had come down to seven thousand
number.
Objectives and Description
In the year 2010, Santos got elected as the defense minister under Uribe and initiated the
formal peace talks in 2012 with the FARC. The hosts of the process were Cuba, Chile,
Venezuela and Norway which came to witness the Havana-based process7. The Havana-based
process was the fourth round of talks between the FARC and the Colombian government. There
were five principles of negotiations. It allowed the future participations of the FARC members
and their reintegration into the civilian life. It issued the eradication of illegal crop and
disarmament of the rebels. The peace agreement asks the military to clear the landmines
scattered throughout the countryside. These landmines have destroyed the lives of eleven
thousand people over the last twenty-five years. The financial, legal and public service supports
were appealed by him but the biggest support came from the United States.
7 Nrc.no (2019). 10 things threatening the peace in Colombia | NRC. [online] NRC. Available at:
https://www.nrc.no/news/2018/march/10-things-threatening-the-peace-in-colombia/ [Accessed
12 Jan. 2019].

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In the year 2016, a treaty of peace was signed by FATC leader and Santos in the city of
Cartagena. The FARC leaders and the government of Colombia wanted to build up a special
tribunal which is made up of the international judges and the Colombian people in order to
gather the evidences and testimony, the mete out punishments and oversee reparations8.
However, those people who opposed the peace deal found out that the tribunal system is
insufficient. It is because this did not allow for the former rebels the proper prison time. Notably,
in December 2016, a revised peace agreement was approved by the Colombian Congress that
was not there before in the national referendum.
As per the new terms, the FARC wax bound to hand over all their assets for the
reparations. The punishment that the early FARC members were about to face was defined in the
proper manner. The provisions which allowed the political participation and representation of the
FARC members remained but the former executives were prevented from running in the former
conflict zones. On 28th December, an amnesty for the perpetrators of minor crimes was approved
by the Congress9. As per the approval, the FARC members started moving to the demobilization
zones which marked the beginning of the first stage plan in order to achieve a complete
disarmament by the year 2017.
8 Conciliation Resources (2019). Conciliation Resources. [online] Conciliation Resources.
Available at: https://c-r.org/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
9 Aljazeera.com (2019). UN: 85 FARC members killed in Colombia since peace deal. [online]
Aljazeera.com. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/190101080210851.html
[Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].

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Analysis of the Peace Process
First of all, the most powerful attempt of Alvaro Uribe was his administration which
utilized the time properly. As he oversaw that there were many military blows to the FARC and
the members of the FARC have been reduced up to greater extent, he seized the opportunity
provided by the weakened guerrilla group. It was a wise decision from the part of Santos. He
realized it is better to ally with the opponent than winning the conflict through military
confrontations and that too without huge losses. Along with the perfect utilization of time, it
reflects the strength of leadership. Instead of the resentment among some of the Colombians,
Santos has glorified his presidency by finally being able to get a deal of peace with the FARC10.
Strengths /success
The implementations of the Peace Agreement of Colombia between the government and
the FARC has not been as effective as expected. However, there have been some solutions to the
problem of Illicit Drugs. The agreement also has supposedly helped to achieve the
democratization of the land access specially to benefit the peasants. The ANT or The National
Agency of Lands has taken up the responsibility of responding to the challenges of post-conflict
as per the demands of the Peace Agreement. This is a kind of agency that ensures that the
peasants have proper and legal access to the lands. It has ensured benefit both the environment
and the society. Moreover, in the year 2017, more than 122,000 families have collectively
responded to the agreements in order to substitute the illicit plantations. Hence, is spite of the
slow implementation of the agreement, there have been some progress by the negotiating parties
in Cuba, Havana between the year 2012 and 2016. It is hoped that the implementation of the
10 Herbolzheimer, K., 2016. Innovations in the Colombian peace process.

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agreement of peace will stay persistent in its route with a faster pace avoiding other fiascos in the
process.
As compared to 2015, Colombia has experienced an increase in the inflow of 14.5 %
after the agreement was established. The peace agreement helped Colombia to rise up as secured
and attractive tourist destinations. The evidence is the increased number of foreign visitors as
informed by the tourism minister Maria, Claudia Lacouture. The agreement has furthermore
facilitated the access to two oceans along with offering a variety of attractions such as mountain,
beaches, snow, jungles and several metropolises with higher shipping provisions. Colombia has
received almost 5 million tourists as per the report of 2016 which is a 14.5 % increase as
compared to the year 2015. The tourism facilitations have also increased the surpassing of the
traditional exports that includes flowers, coffee, bananas. The visitors are mostly from Europe,
United States and South
America and similar established countries. It has supported the economic condition of Colombia
and increased the number of shareholders and investors in the country.
Limitations/weaknesses
The peace agreement as benefitted Colombia in several ways. However, it has some
limitations too. The peace process is still fragile. There are still some areas where armed conflict
is still continuing. Since FARC has laid down their weapons, the armed groups are trying to
control the natural resources and the strategic areas along with the drug routes. There are places
where the paramilitary groups have interrupted but violence has not stopped fully. The
government on the other hand is still unable to guarantee safety of the civilians. The government
has also been accused of lacking the necessary capacity and resources.

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The number of refugee people in own country have been increased too by 36 %. The
local leaders are being randomly murdered and the human rights activists too are not being
spared. FARC claims that they have fulfilled their obligations as dictated by the agreement. They
have shed off their guerrilla reputation and accepted the political participation. Some of them are
extremely frustrated by the situation they are in and some of them have joined the criminal or
new armed groups. The aftermath of the agreement is being highly felt at few parts of Colombia
and the people out there feel less safe than they felt previously. Many of them feel that they lack
trust in the peace process.
Recommendation
Having analyzed the peace process in Colombia and examining the strengths and
weaknesses, the SMART recommendation is that:
The deployment of UN peacekeeping operations to protect the civilians
 Specific -The deployment of UN peacekeeping policy in the peace process of Colombia.
The UN peacekeeping primarily represents the knowledge and body which supports the
peacekeeping personnel. It also provides methods to streamline the works.
 Measurable-The materials for the policy and guidance are funded on lessons and good
practices from the operations on the field and are reviewed on regular basis. The United
Nations peacekeeping operations utilizes the planning toolkit in order to help the
practitioners in the field.
 Attainable -The conduction of the assessment and planning of DPKO- led operations are
facilitated. The UN policy of the protection of civilians provides a conceptual framework

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that guides the principles and other key considerations for the incorporations of civilian
protection operations.
 Related -The manual of the peacekeeping process describes the military police unit and
the Force headquarters. It is scalable in size mission tailored and modular in function.
The military police help to support the mission area and its physical characteristics. The
Colombian peace process can implement this operation to protect the lives of the
civilians.
 Timely – The timeline of the implementation of this policy should be within six months.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that The Colombian peace
process is an agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) and
the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos in order to finish the Colombian
conflict. The agreement was finally signed after decades of conflict between the government and
the FARC. The conflict was taking huge toll on the county and its economic, social and
environmental aspect. The expected outcomes of the agreement might not be completely
achieved but there have been several progressions. the limitations of the agreement can be
bridged and made effective by the regular monitoring of the international community.

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Reference
Ainley, K., 2016. The great escape? The role of the International Criminal Court in the
Colombian peace process. Justice in Conflict.
Aljazeera.com 2019. UN: 85 FARC members killed in Colombia since peace deal. [online]
Aljazeera.com. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/190101080210851.html
[Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
Cfr.org 2019. Colombia’s Civil Conflict. [online] Council on Foreign Relations. Available at:
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/colombias-civil-conflict [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
Colombiapeace.org 2019. Colombia Peace. [online] Colombia Peace. Available at:
http://colombiapeace.org/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
Conciliation Resources 2019. Conciliation Resources. [online] Conciliation Resources.
Available at: https://c-r.org/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
En.escambray.cu 2019. ELN Announces Ceasefire, Asks to Resume Peace Talks – Escambray.
[online] En.escambray.cu. Available at: http://en.escambray.cu/2018/eln-announces-ceasefire-
asks-govt-to-resume-peace-talks/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2019].
Escobar, A., Rosero, C. and Grueso, L., 2018. The process of black community organizing in the
southern Pacific coast region of Colombia. In Cultures Of Politics/politics Of Cultures(pp. 196-
219). Routledge.
García, J., 2017. The UN's new role in Colombia can strengthen the peace process during its
most vulnerable phase. LSE Latin America and Caribbean Blog.