Mr. Hasan Dodwell:

I have no doubt the organisers will be organising very important meetings. From a Justice for Colombia perspective, and thinking about peace and human rights, maybe the committee might see things it would not otherwise see. It is very important to meet with the newly appointed high commissioner for peace, Danilo Rueda. There is also a peace commission in the Colombian House and Senate, so it would be good to get the view of what is happening with that total peace policy, what is the plan and how far it has advanced. Those would be key groups and people to meet with.

As for the 2016 agreement and the need to continue to focus on that, lest we forget about it as an international community, it would be important to meet with the representatives of what is called the CSIVI, the committee for oversight of implementation. It had really run dry over recent years. Again, that has been reinitiated in recent weeks and will start meeting again. There are representatives on that body from the FARC, or what is now called the Comunes political party, and the Colombian Government. It would be really important to meet with representatives of the Comunes. I am sure the committee will meet with representatives of the government in other guises as well, but it would definitely be important to meet with members of Comunes as one of the two sides to that peace process.

More broadly, as to where to go and not wanting to see only the nice parts and hotels of Bogotá, there are two aspects to this. One is the importance, if possible and if time allows, for the committee to try to get to a reincorporation zone or FARC reincorporation camp. These have two forms. There are the official ones that were created under the peace agreement and then a number have been created in an ad hocway. There are 75 in total. The vast majority, 10,000, of the more than 13,000 former combatants live outside of the official zones now, many in those newly created areas. Whether one of the official zones or the newly created areas, it would be really important, if possible, to go and see how the rank-and-file former combatants are existing at the moment and what their needs are in respect of the successful implementation of the agreement.

The other side to the rural areas is to go and see areas where there are particular problems with human rights issues and security issues. These killings are taking place in very specific regions in the countryside. For example, the committee could go to Putumayo or to Cauca and meet with human rights organisations there. A good organisation I would recommend meeting in those areas, one that has local groups, is the agricultural workers' union, FENSUAGRO. Maybe the committee could make a visit to Putumayo and have some follow-up on what is happening with the families of Remanso. That could be very interesting for the committee.

Finally, there is the issue of human rights and the protests. It is important to follow up on that from what happened in 2021. One organisation in that regard that would be key is the human rights network, Francisco Isaías Cifuentes, in Cali, which is doing a lot of work with some of the young people who have been in prison since then. It has a campaign to try to accompany them and make sure that any illegalities in their arrests and imprisonment do not continue to keep them in prison.

The committee will probably meet some of those groups at any rate, for example, the peace commissioner, the House and Senate and, I hope, the Comunes. If Justice for Colombia can assist with anything, particularly in respect of the rural areas, the FARC former combatant camps, the human rights organisations in Cali or the agricultural workers' union in Putumayo, we would be very happy to do so.