Colombia: UN expert Antonia Urrejola concludes second official visit

Antonia Urrejola, the international human rights expert appointed to identify and verify obstacles to the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement, concludes her second visit to Colombia today.

The visit coincided with the commemoration of the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Agreement and allowed for a deeper analysis of its implementation status from a human rights perspective. The expert held a series of meetings with various stakeholders to complement the information collected during her first visit and gathered by her team, to contribute to the drafting of the report she will present to the Human Rights Council in March 2024.

The expert extends special thanks to the Government of Colombia for the invitation; to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for facilitating the coordination of meetings with the various institutions; and to each person she met, who contributed with valuable information to fulfill her mandate.

Over the last 8 days, Urrejola met with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General's Office, the Ombudsman's Office, the Constitutional Court, the Agency for Territorial Renewal, the National Land Agency, the National Protection Unit, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, the Unit for the Search of People Deemed as Missing, parliamentarians, signatories of the Peace Agreement, former combatants in the process of reintegration, representatives of civil society, academics, as well as with the diplomatic corps and United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia to whom the expert thanks particularly for organizing the visit to Acacias in the Meta department.

The expert also met with a former president, a former Attorney General and other former government officials.

Urrejola particularly thanks the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the technical support provided to carry out this visit.

She will present preliminary observations in December 2023 and her report to the Human Rights Council during its 55th session in March 2024.