Mr. Hasan Dodwell:

I am director of Justice for Colombia. I am sure most committee members met my predecessor when she came before the committee previously. We are an Irish and British organisation founded in 2002. We have been supported by the Irish and British trade union movements to work in support of peace, human rights and social justice in Colombia. The organisation was founded in response to the high levels of violence against trade unionists, human rights activists and community activists more generally in Colombia. As we all know, there has been an historically problematic situation in Colombia in terms of human rights and security, which continues to this day and often goes under the radar, although I am sure committee members work on this issue more than others do. That is where we see the importance of our organisation and campaign.

Let us look at the figures that have come out over the 50 years of civil war, between the 1960s and 2016 when the recent peace agreement was signed between the Colombian state and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC. These figures, which pertain in particular between the 1980s to 2016, come from the recent truth commission report that was released. Of a population of 40 million, approximately 8 million people were forcibly displaced from their lands, more than 120,000 people disappeared, with that figure potentially being as high as 210,000, and 440,000 people were killed. We know that 6,400 civilians were killed by the army during the so-called false positives scandal particularly in the early 2000s, and we have recently seen from the findings of the transitional justice courts that more than 5,000 members and supporters of the Patriotic Union political party, which was formed after the peace process in 1980s, were killed. In addition, more than 3,200 trade unionists were killed in the 1970s; over a period of five decades, that amounts to five every month on average. Figures often take away the human side of it but they are important to emphasise the catastrophic scale of the violence, insecurity, and human rights problems in Colombia. That is why, as I am sure everyone here was positive about, there was a lot of hope around the peace process and peace agreement that was signed in 2016.

Justice for Colombia works closely with human rights and peace groups as well as pro-peace politicians in Colombia. We were very positive about the agreement that was eventually signed, particularly because it looked at some of the social and political issues that lay behind the conflict and violence. It contained chapters that looked at land issues, how to tackle the drugs issues not only with a militarised approach but with consideration of the social and economic reasons behind the farmers growing coca leaf, looking at increasing political participation, as well as re-incorporation of former combatants, and ensuring the rights of victims are respected.

Following the signing of the agreement, there have been some key advances to date, and it is important that we emphasise those and continue to show the positives brought by the agreement. Let us not forget the importance of ending an armed conflict that existed for 50 years between the FARC, which had between 13,000 and 14,000 combatants, and the state. Many thousands of lives were saved as a result of the cease-fires and the eventual laying down of weapons. There was the formation of the FARC as a political party, entering into a democratic sphere, and the creation of these transitional justice mechanisms, which have been successful in getting to the truth and moving towards some form of respect for the victims, much more than had previously been the case in the normal justice system. There was also the recent report from the truth commission. We should celebrate all these things and support these institutions that were created as part of the peace agreement. It is important for Justice for Colombia to carry on supporting it internationally.

Sadly, there is the other side. People with whom we work in Colombia continue to have concerns about the slow advance of the implementation process. In Colombia, we have heard there are big question marks around the commitment of the previous government to the implementation process, particularly in areas of rural reform, such a key area in the conflict, on which we saw minimal advancement. In terms of the land needed for sustainable, long-term economic projects for former combatants, there has been little advancement in that regard and in giving access to lands. On the importance of alternative economic projects for former coca growers who were agreeing to the manual substitution programmes, few of them have been given access to long-term economic alternatives, which is fundamental to that part of the agreement being sustainable. There are also the ongoing security issues, which I will talk about later, that affect former combatants in respect of the peace agreement, and that has been concerning. During a recent delegation visit, we met with many former combatants and spoke to some who were living in tents because the lack of security meant they had to move from where they had been previously living. This is a concerning situation and occurred in an area called El Doncello.

There have been some advances but big concerns remain but the peace process continues to survive in spite of those difficulties over recent years. That is a strength and it shows that there was something solid in what was created and agreed in 2016. International support has been important. The Irish Embassy in Colombia has been an important actor in maintaining international diplomatic support for the peace process and will, no doubt, continue to have an important role to play in that regard.

Where are we at today? As well as the difficulty with the peace process over recent years, we have also seen an increase in violence and insecurity for rural communities. Illegal armed groups have been forming in areas formally controlled by the FARC, which has provided a platform for increased violence against community activists. I am sure members of the committee will know some of the horrifying figures of recent years. From 2016, when the deal was signed, to today, more than 1,300 community activists have been killed according to Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y la Paz, INDEPAZ, an organisation in Colombia. Some 137 community activists were killed this year and, as I said earlier, more than 340 former combatants have been killed, 34 of whom were killed this year.

This year, we have seen some serious human rights abuses by state actors, not least of which occurred in the southern department of Putumayo. During Justice for Colombia's latest delegation visit, we met with family members of victims. They told us there were attacked by the army and 11 people were killed. This incident was awaiting investigation by the authorities under the then Colombian Government. The government completely defended the army's action, which went against what the local community said had happened.

I am sure we all saw the protests in April and May of last year. There was a huge mobilisation on the street against tax reform as well as against the lack of implementation of the peace agreement, the problems of violence in the countryside and the response from the police. Human rights organisations reported on the horrifying things that were happening on the streets. We all saw the videos of police shooting at protestors in the streets. According to human rights organisations, 44 people were killed by the police. More than 100 people were shot in the face, mostly with gas canisters, and many of whom lost their vision. They were mostly young kids protesting on the streets. There were also reports of 26 sexual assaults by the security forces.

This has been happening in recent years and is of huge concern to us. The peace process and some of the issues coming up on the streets were part of the context that led to a change in electoral results. From our analysis, it may be what led to the shift in opinion in Colombian society and the election of a government representing voices that may not have been represented by those in power previously.

I think everyone accepts this is probably the first so-called progressive government in Colombia. It is certainly a government that talks openly and determinedly about supporting peace and human rights. There is a coalition in the Congress of Colombia that brings together this progressive coalition with some of the traditional parties, including the Conservative Party and Liberal Party, both of which have ministerial posts in the government.

To bring us up to date, for us as an organisation campaigning on peace and human rights, one of the policies giving us a great deal of hope is the new Colombian Government's flagship policy, which it is calling the policy towards total peace. This is its effort to bring an end to or take great strides towards ending the armed violence that has existed in Colombia for so long. This is focused first on the full commitment to implementation of the 2016 peace agreement and then on opening talks with all the remaining armed groups. These can be grouped into three main organisations. The first is the Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN, which is the largest remaining guerrilla organisation. The second consists of the so-called FARC dissident groups. These are made up of those who did not join the peace talks at the beginning or former FARC members who then created groups. It must be remembered that only a small percentage of combatants left the peace process. Some 95% of the combatants that entered the peace agreement are still in that process. The third group consists of neo-paramilitary organisations and those engaging in organised crime, including perhaps drug trafficking.

Efforts are ongoing to open talks with all these armed groups. Unilateral ceasefires have already been announced by ten armed groups, and more than 20 armed groups have declared their interest in forming part of these talks. Some very positive strides have already been taken. The high commissioner for peace, Danilo Rueda, a long-time human rights defender, is doing a great deal of work on this. This is an important opportunity for all of us to get behind something that could achieve great steps in the years ahead.

The passage of different social and political reforms through the Colombian Congress is also being sought. These include measures on police reform and increasing the state's civilian presence in rural areas. The determination to focus on the rural chapter of the peace agreement of 2016 will be extremely important. Hopefully, big strides can be made in this area. Transforming social conditions in the countryside is fundamental for everything else. A recent agreement was reached between the Colombian Government and the cattle ranchers federation, Fedegan, which traditionally was more allied to the right-wing parties in Colombia. Having this current administration strike an agreement with Fedegan for the purchase of 3 million ha of land to go into a land fund to give to peasant and small-scale farmers, as promised in the peace agreement, is another positive step.

This is where things stand. The international community's continuing interest in Colombia, and some of the key issues we will be working on, will focus on the 2016 peace agreement, support for the efforts to bring all armed actors to the table and support for the reforms to tackle historical human rights abuses within state institutions. For us, it will also be important to continue to work with and to highlight issues affecting local communities because we know the security situation is not going to improve from one day to the next. The policy of total peace is at the top of all of this and, hopefully, the international community can get behind it and find ways to support it.