Peace negotiations resume in Colombia
Published: Tuesday, Nov 19th 2024, 17:20
Updated At: Wednesday, Nov 20th 2024, 00:59
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After ten months of deadlock in the peace negotiations, the Colombian government and the guerrilla fighters of the National Liberation Army resumed talks on a peace treaty on Tuesday. A Swiss national is also sitting at the negotiating table.
The round of negotiations between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the government, which began on Tuesday, is to last until November 25. The peace delegations of the Colombian government and ELN want to "achieve maximum progress", as they emphasized in a joint statement. However, according to Philipp Lustenberger, the Swiss special envoy for the peace process in Colombia, the peace negotiations are currently in a difficult situation, as he explained in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The first left-wing president in the history of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, resumed negotiations with the ELN, the largest guerrilla group still active in Colombia, shortly after taking office in August 2022. "Progress was made quickly at the beginning," said Lustenberger. "But the negotiations stalled at the beginning of the year."
The ELN and the government accused each other of failing to comply with agreements. Following an attack by the guerrillas on a military base in September, in which two soldiers were killed and numerous others injured, Petro declared the peace dialog with the ELN to have failed and suspended it. At a meeting in early November, the two parties decided to resume negotiations.
Despite these setbacks, the peace negotiations with the ELN are not lost, according to Lustenberger. "There are always crises and setbacks in peace negotiations," said the special envoy. The fundamental willingness of both sides to negotiate with each other is key.
The role of Switzerland
When the guerrilla fighters of the ELN or the EMC-Farc-EP, a splinter group of the former Farc guerrillas, negotiate with the government, Lustenberger is always at the table. Together with Germany, Sweden and Spain, Switzerland is one of four countries involved in these peace negotiations.
At the negotiating table itself, these accompanying states primarily take on an observer role. "The two parties negotiate directly with each other," explained the peace mediator. However, the international presence is important in order to build trust between the two negotiating parties and to mediate in difficult situations. "Trust is the most important asset in a peace process," said Lustenberger.
The mandate to accompany the peace negotiations was given to Switzerland by both the government and the guerrilla group. Switzerland has a constitutional mandate to promote peaceful coexistence in the world. "There is no guarantee of success," says Lustenberger.
Nevertheless, according to the Lucerne native, such negotiations with guerrilla organizations are necessary and Switzerland can play an important supporting role in order to increase the chances of a peaceful solution. "History has shown that such conflicts cannot be resolved by purely military and police measures. Moreover, the humanitarian and economic costs of purely military action are very high," he explained.
©Keystone/SDA
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