The Government of Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed the agreements to end the 52-year conflict.

On June 23, 2016, the Colombian President and the Chief of the FARC, Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, better known as “Timochenko”, took part in the ceremony that marked the culmination of the peace negotiations. The agreements include a bilateral and definitive ceasefire, the laying down of weapons by the FARC and security guarantees between the parties.

In effect, the ceasefire agreement comprises four points, to which both signatories are committed: the definitive and bilateral end of all hostilities between the Government and the FARC; the laying down of weapons by guerrilla members; the guarantee of security for all citizens and the fight against criminal organizations that jeopardize human, social and political rights, or are involved in homicides and massacres and, finally, the initiation of criminal proceedings in case of non-compliance with the implementation of the agreement .

The agreement determines the date for the end of all attacks and military offensives and establishes the formula that will be used for the delivery of FARC weapons, which will be done within 180 days of the signing of the final peace agreement that will be signed. in Colombia.

Both sides declare that there is no place for the use of weapons in the exercise of politics and undertake not to reactivate the conflict. The FARC also undertakes to remove all mines from the territory they controlled.

As for the implementation and monitoring of the agreement, this will be done by a commission that will include international observers from the United Nations and members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

The signing ceremony of the Peace Accords took place in Havana, in the presence of Cuban President Raúl Castro and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban-Ki-Moon.

Read also the note sent by the President of IPDAL to the Ambassador of Colombia in Portugal:

SIR

Ambassador Germán Santamaria

Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia

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Dear friend,

I send you this Note in my personal name, and that of the Institute for the Promotion and Development of Latin America (IPDAL), to express our deepest satisfaction with the signing of the peace agreements between the Government of Bogotá and the FARC armed group , which will put an end to this half-century-old conflict.

June 23, 2016 is a date that will remain in the History of the World, but especially of Colombia which, after so many vicissitudes and obstacles overcome, took a fundamental step towards the consolidation of Peace, Reconciliation and Progress. Colombia is today, more than ever, a reference for all people and all States, having set an example of how to work, with firmness and absolute determination, in favor of security, development and stability.

The efforts of President Juan Manuel Santos managed to make the world look at his country with hope and admiration. In Portugal, we hope that this is the beginning of a new era of prosperity and justice for Colombia, which has demonstrated that it has chosen the path of integration of peoples, with the conviction that the future is built by joining together and not dividing. May all its citizens be able to put into practice the demonstrated values of respect, humanism and trust in a better future for future generations.

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Please accept my most sincere and cordial greetings,

Paulo Neves

President