{"id":7118,"date":"2020-04-18T22:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T02:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=7118"},"modified":"2020-04-18T22:00:07","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T02:00:07","slug":"colombia-hopes-for-humanitarian-ceasefire-during-coronavirus-as-violence-resurges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=7118","title":{"rendered":"Colombia Hopes for \u2018Humanitarian\u2019 Ceasefire During Coronavirus as Violence Resurges"},"content":{"rendered":"
Colombian soldiers patrol the streets of Bogota on March 30, 2020, during a mandatory national quarantine. GUILLERMO MUNOZ\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colombia\u2019s 2016 peace accord<\/a> was meant to end a half century of conflict with the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.<\/p>\n

Yet some areas previously dominated by the FARC guerrillas are seeing unintended consequences<\/a> of that agreement, including a turf war between other armed groups. Colombian paramilitaries, drug traffickers and rebel groups<\/a> are now fighting for control over what was once FARC territory.<\/p>\n

One result of renewed violence in Colombia is that humanitarian aid groups are less able to reach conflict-affected communities that have long depended on their services, according to my research<\/a> on the Colombian peace process.<\/p>\n

Such international assistance is more critical than ever as coronavirus spreads across the South American country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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People in the city of Cali on their balconies during Colombia\u2019s national coronavirus lockdown, April 6, 2020. LUIS ROBAYO\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Unintended consequences of \u2018peace\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s 2016 peace deal<\/a> with the FARC was far-reaching. To meet the guerrillas\u2019 demands, the government promised land reform, economic development and political inclusion of the rural areas controlled by the FARC.<\/p>\n

Three years later, implementation of these ambitious agreements remains slow, underfunded and incomplete<\/a>. Repeating a situation documented in other post-conflict zones<\/a>, the government\u2019s lack of presence and control in previously FARC-dominated regions has left a power vacuum for other armed groups to contest the territory.<\/p>\n

Violence is particularly high in Colombia\u2019s Pacific coast area, which is predominantly black and indigenous<\/a>, and is among Colombia\u2019s most socially and economically marginalized<\/a> regions. But it is rich in resources like gold and coca<\/a>, the traditional Andean crop used to make cocaine \u2013 both lucrative income sources which help fund the illegal activities of armed groups.<\/p>\n

Poverty rates reach 59% in some areas of the Colombian Pacific, compared to a 27% national average<\/a>. The most recent census shows that up to 70% of people in parts the Pacific have insufficient access to potable water, food and housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a result, many households, businesses, farms and community projects in Colombia\u2019s Pacific region rely on humanitarian assistance and development aid.<\/p>\n

This year Colombia is slated to receive US$448 million in total aid from United States<\/a>. The European Union<\/a> and Catholic Church<\/a> also provide substantial humanitarian aid to the country.<\/p>\n

But the recent proliferation of criminal groups<\/a> is making it very difficult for humanitarian groups to do their work.<\/p>\n

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Colombians from the Wounaan indigenous group before a medical checkup on the European Union-supported hospital ship \u2018San Raffaele,\u2019 Choco department, Colombia, April 24, 2019. RAUL ARBOLEDA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

\u2018We don\u2019t know who\u2019s in charge\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the 2016 peace deal, \u201cwe knew who to negotiate with,\u201d a representative of an aid group based in the city of Cali, told me.<\/p>\n

The aid worker, who like all participants in my research must remain anonymous for safety and ethics reasons, said his staff used to negotiate with the local FARC or paramilitary bloc commander to ensure safe passage for their aid supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we can\u2019t do that,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause we don\u2019t know who\u2019s in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a brief honeymoon period of reduced violence<\/a> following the 2016 peace accord, an aid worker from a different humanitarian group told me. Now, he said, while aid is still getting to some high-need urban communities in Colombia\u2019s Pacific region, remote areas are increasingly hard to access.<\/p>\n

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Members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, during a training in El Choco, Colombia, May 26, 2019. RAUL ARBOLEDA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

\u201cArmed groups often check the cars or boats that pass through their territory,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, if you have aid materials with you, it can be complicated, depending on who\u2019s in charge that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, he told me, their deliveries of supplies like textbooks, medical supplies, seeds and fertilizer are let through without problem. Other times, local paramilitaries or rebel groups seize the supplies and threaten the humanitarian workers.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 and human rights<\/strong><\/p>\n

Violence is also complicating Colombia\u2019s response to the global coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

Colombia, which passed the 1,000 COVID-19 case mark<\/a> in early April, has been proactive in its efforts to contain the virus. The country is under a nationally mandated quarantine until at least April 13.<\/p>\n

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Colombian soldiers deliver food to low-income residents under lockdown in the city of Cali, March 26, 2020. LUIS ROBAYO\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

That hasn\u2019t kept Colombia\u2019s armed groups at home. As the country prepared for quarantine the week of March 23, three community leaders<\/a> were killed. The murders are part of a wave of violence against Colombian community organizers who have led protests and strikes by indigenous and peasant communities to demand<\/a> the social and economic justice initiatives promised in the peace deal.<\/p>\n

An estimated 600 to 900 activists<\/a> have been murdered in Colombia since 2016.<\/p>\n

An uncertain future for peace<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the United Nations\u2019 appeal on March 24 for a global ceasefire while the coronavirus crisis lasts, the ELN \u2013 Colombia\u2019s largest active guerrilla group \u2013 declared a monthlong ceasefire<\/a> as a \u201chumanitarian gesture.\u201d So far, other armed groups have not heeded the call<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Humanitarian workers worry that aid to the country may start to dry up<\/a> with supplies from the U.S. and Europe being redirected to their domestic coronavirus response.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs different countries around the world close their borders and brace themselves for COVID-19, we expect to see a huge decrease in the level of international aid we\u2019ll receive,\u201d a Colombian government member who works in international cooperation and humanitarian projects told me.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the violence indirectly caused by the 2016 peace accords continues in Colombia, complicated by the arrival of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Shauna N Gillooly<\/a>, PhD Candidate, Political Science, University of California, Irvine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colombia\u2019s 2016 peace accord was meant to end a half century of conflict with the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Yet some areas previously dominated by the FARC guerrillas are seeing unintended consequences of that agreement, including a turf war between other armed groups. Colombian paramilitaries, drug traffickers and rebel groups are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":7368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/326938\/original\/file-20200409-184019-qhp3n7.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Colombia Hopes for \u2018Humanitarian\u2019 Ceasefire During Coronavirus as Violence Resurges","footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security-public-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7118"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7120,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118\/revisions\/7120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}