El proceso de Participación de la Sociedad en la Construcción de la Paz (Primer Acuerdo de Cuba)

Country/entity
Colombia
Region
Americas
Agreement name
El proceso de Participación de la Sociedad en la Construcción de la Paz (Primer Acuerdo de Cuba)
Date
9 Jun 2023
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
Yes
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/intrastate conflict
Stage
Framework/substantive - partial
Conflict nature
Government
Peace process
Colombia VI - Government-ELN post-2015 process
Parties
Delegation of the Government of the Republic of Colombia:

José Otty Patiño Hormaza, Head of delegation
Iván Danilo Rueda Rodríguez, High Commissioner for Peace
Iván Cepeda Castro
Dayana Paola Urzola Domicó
Rodrigo Botero García
Nigeria Rentería Lozano
Álvaro Matallana Eslava
José Félix Lafaurie Rivera
Orlando Romero Reyes
Rosmery Quintero Castro
Horacio Guerrero García
Adelaida Jiménez Cortés
Carlos Alfonso Rosero
Olga Lilia Silva López
María José Pizarro Rodríguez​​.

Delegation of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN:

Pablo Beltrán, Head of delegation
Aureliano Carbonell
Bernardo Téllez
Manuel Gustavo Martínez
María Consuelo Tapias
Isabel Torres
Tomás García Laviana
Simón Pabón
Mauricio Iguarán​​.
Third parties
As observer of the armed forces:

Maj. Gen. Hugo Alejandro López Barreto​​.
As witnesses and depositaries (Guarantor countries):

Glivânia Maria de Oliveira, Federative Republic of Brazil
Eugenio Martínez Enríquez, Republic of Cuba
Jon Otto Brødholt, Kingdom of Norway
Raúl Vergara Meneses, Republic of Chile
Claudia Helietta González Hernández, United Mexican States
Gen. Carlos Martínez Mendoza, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela​​.
Permanent accompanying partners:

Carlos G. Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General
Msgr. Héctor Fabio Henao Gaviria, Delegate for Church-State Relations, Episcopal Conference of Colombia​​.
Description
This document is an agreement between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) that outlines the framework for societal participation in Colombia's peacebuilding process. Signed on 9 June 2023 in Havana, Cuba, it emphasizes active, inclusive, and deliberative participation across societal sectors to foster a comprehensive peace agenda. The agreement establishes a National Committee on Participation to design and implement the participation model, with a focus on creating a broad national consensus for addressing the country's conflicts.
Main category
The preamble and section 1 of the Mexico Agreement on participation expressly state that resolving the armed conflict and eradicating violence requires eliciting the commitment and the active and effective participation of historically excluded groups, such as women and the LGBTIQ+ community, who have suffered more severely from the impact of the armed conflict and structural violence.

Women, girls and gender

Participation
Participation→Effective participation
3. Differentiated approaches
3.1. Gender-sensitive approach
The preamble and section 1 of the Mexico Agreement on participation expressly state that resolving the armed conflict and eradicating violence requires eliciting the commitment and the active and effective participation of historically excluded groups, such as women and the LGBTIQ+ community, who have suffered more severely from the impact of the armed conflict and structural violence.
Equality

No specific mention.

Particular groups of women

No specific mention.

International law

No specific mention.

New institutions

No specific mention.

Violence against women

No specific mention.

Transitional justice

No specific mention.

Institutional reform

No specific mention.

Development

No specific mention.

Implementation

No specific mention.

Other

No specific mention.

Agreement No.

9

Process of participation of society in peacebuilding (First Cuba Agreement)

The Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN (National Liberation Army) sign the present agreement on the process of participation of society in peacebuilding, as set out in items 1, 2 and 3 of the agenda for peace talks and as part of the democratic validation of this process.

The participation of society in this peace process shall be governed by the Mexico Agreement signed between the Government of Colombia and ELN on 10 March 2023, and the present agreements signed in Havana, Cuba.

1. Goal of the participation of society

To build an agenda of transformations for peace, driven by a social and political alliance that leads to a broad national agreement to resolve the political, social, economic and armed conflict.

In accordance with the Mexico Agreement, “[a]s the core of a shared vision of what peace should be, we, the parties to this process, see the need for a broad national agreement to be reached by an alliance of political, economic and social forces, movements and organizations, the media and different groups and voices of the people.

This alliance should drive the changes needed in Colombian society”.

2. Nature of the participation

The parties to this agreement have established the participation of society as the first item on our agenda, as we believe it is fundamental in order to achieve transformations and lay the foundations for a peace agreement.

Therefore, participation must be active, proactive, inclusive, deliberative, binding and effective, because we understand that the parties should seek to resolve the armed conflict through dialogue in order to transform its causes and remove violence from politics.

The voices of urban and rural communities, peoples and territories must be at the heart of participation.

Comprehensive peace is a collective construction in which, by definition, the participation of society is necessary and indispensable.

The definitive resolution of the political, social and armed conflict through dialogue and negotiation should be based on the ability to implement the transformations Colombia requires.

Participation is and must be democratic in essence.

This peacebuilding process shall be aimed at strengthening and developing democracy in all its forms while actively involving society as a whole in the decisions that affect it.

The active and binding participation of society shall include other differentiated approaches and perspectives to ensure that the voices and proposals of children, adolescents, young people, older persons, peasants and persons with disabilities are heard.

3. Differentiated approaches

3.1. Gender-sensitive approach

The preamble and section 1 of the Mexico Agreement on participation expressly state that resolving the armed conflict and eradicating violence requires eliciting the commitment and the active and effective participation of historically excluded groups, such as women and the LGBTIQ+ community, who have suffered more severely from the impact of the armed conflict and structural violence.

3.2. Ethnic approach

It is imperative to reaffirm that ensuring the right to peace requires recognizing ethnic and cultural diversity, that is, protecting ethnic peoples and their territories and life systems, and including the voices and proposals of indigenous, black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, Palenquero and Romani peoples.

4. Stages of participation

The participation process covers the first three sections of the Mexico Agreement.

It shall run until May 2025, when the results of sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Mexico Agreement will be determined and the corresponding agreements shall be signed.

The guarantor countries and permanent accompanying institutions of this peace process shall be present during these stages, supporting and monitoring compliance with the present agreement.

4.1. Design phase

In developing the general process of item 1 of the agenda, the parties agreed to carry out a first phase to design how society will participate in the process.

This process shall be facilitated by a body with a specific mandate, created and coordinated by the peace talks panel.

The first phase shall mark the beginning of the process of participation of society, specifying the criteria and scope to guarantee its central role in developing the issues agreed upon, and defining the methodology and scenarios for participation through a national, deliberative and proactive exercise.

4.2. Diagnosis and dialogue on democracy for peace

The goal of this phase shall be to “promote a dialogue among the various social actors convened, and to identify and examine the main causes of the political, social, environmental and armed conflict, in order to formulate comprehensive solutions” (section 2, Mexico Agreement).

This process shall also consider State diagnoses and reports, social studies, the agreements signed between social movements and the State, and academic research on the issues included in the objectives.

4.3. Phase three:

Building an agenda on democracy and transformations

In accordance with section 3 of the Mexico Agreement, the goal of this phase shall be to “reach an agreement on policies and a comprehensive plan to bring about transformations by carrying out specific projects at the national and territorial levels, with the participation of society, making viable a peaceful, democratic, sovereign Colombia in which equity and social justice reign and the use of weapons to prevent or spur such transformations is rendered unnecessary”.

4.4. Systematize results

At the end of each phase and at the end of the participation process, the peace talks panel shall validate the process of systematization of the reports.

The results shall be included in the implementation plan for the peace agreements with ELN (section 6 of the Mexico Agreement).

5. Characteristics of the design phase

5.1. General objective

Based on society’s contributions, the body created under the present agreement shall design a participation model, make recommendations, prepare the national participation plan and deliver it to the peace talks panel.

5.2. Specific objectives

– Present a conceptual, operational and logistical plan to promote and facilitate the involvement of society in the design of the participation process.

– Promote and develop spaces for dialogue with a differential approach, in which the various components of society can present their proposals to design the participation method.

– Systematize the proposals of the social groups convened.

– Contribute to the creation of the national agreement.

5.3. Duration of the design phase

This phase shall last for four to six months starting from the date of the present agreement and with the official public establishment of the body mentioned below.

This phase shall conclude with a national meeting to present the results to society.

6. National Committee on Participation

The present agreement establishes the National Committee on Participation as a special and temporary body attached to the peace talks panel.

As stated in the agreements formalizing the process, the peace talks panel is irreplaceable in its crucial role as a negotiator and decision maker based on the principle of bilateralism.

The panel shall be part of the National Committee on Participation, leading and ensuring compliance with the mandate established in the Mexico Agreement.

6.1. Composition

The National Committee on Participation shall be broad and inclusive of Colombian society.

It shall consist of 80 members of the 30 social movements, ethnic peoples, organizations, trade associations and institutions listed in annex 1 to the present agreement.

The movements, ethnic peoples, social organizations, trade associations and institutions shall observe the criteria outlined by the peace talks panel in annex 2, which forms an integral part of the present agreement.

6.2. Mandate, headquarters and funding

The peace talks panel shall:

(i) under the present agreement, deliver a clearly defined mandate to the National Committee on Participation;

(ii) create the regulations for the operation of the National Committee on Participation;

and (iii) consolidate the results of the participation design phase, which should lead to the national participation plan.

The headquarters of the National Committee on Participation shall be arranged with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and the Episcopal Conference of Colombia.

Similarly, the funding for the participation design phase shall be arranged with the international community supporting the peace process.

7. Structure of the National Committee on Participation

The peace talks panel shall be the coordinating body of the National Committee on Participation.

The panel shall also be tasked with forming the teams required for its operation.

The National Committee on Participation shall include four members of the Government’s peace delegation and four members of the ELN delegation.

A technical secretariat comprised of two members appointed by each party shall be formed.

The parties shall request the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and the Episcopal Conference of Colombia to provide their assistance for the creation of the technical and logistical teams.

8. Operation of the National Committee on Participation

The peace talks panel and the Committee shall interact with the various groups, ethnic peoples and social organizations to gather their ideas for the design of participation in relation to the following:

– Their experiences of participation and the construction of effective and meaningful participation.

– The following thematic areas, addressed from a democratic perspective:

the political system, the economic model and the environmental situation, as provided in the Mexico Agreement.

– The methodologies to implement the phases of the participation process.

– Their proposals to create a broad national agreement and a social and political alliance as a result of this participation process.

With these objectives in mind, eight territorial meetings shall be held.

At the same time, the national sectors shall be convened to discuss and propose the design of the participation.

The Committee shall also support and participate in the meetings of national sectors and trade associations as part of the design phase.

Furthermore, the Committee shall contribute to summarizing the results of the exercise.

Under the guidance of the peace talks panel, the creation of bodies that promote and foster the participation of society in this process shall be encouraged.

The Committee shall establish a rapporteurs and systematization team, which shall operate under its leadership and shall carry out this work in the regional and national meetings.

Where possible, the design phase sessions shall be face-to-face.

Otherwise, they may be carried out through digital means.

9. Education and communication on the participation process

The peace talks panel shall be the official spokesperson of the Committee.

The panel members on the Committee shall guide the communication and educational work to encourage society to participate in the design phase.

The panel shall liaise with the media to foster an environment conducive to the peace process and participation.

10. Security guarantees in participation

The parties to the present agreement are committed to the safety and free access of all persons, communities and groups in the participation process.

The State shall ensure special protection for the members of ELN appointed to the Committee during the design phase.

The ceasefire and participation agreements shall be carried out in a coordinated manner by the parties.

Havana, Republic of Cuba, 9 June 2023.

Delegation of the Government of the Republic of Colombia:

José Otty Patiño Hormaza, Head of delegation

Iván Danilo Rueda Rodríguez, High Commissioner for Peace

Iván Cepeda Castro

Dayana Paola Urzola Domicó

Rodrigo Botero García

Nigeria Rentería Lozano

Álvaro Matallana Eslava

José Félix Lafaurie Rivera

Orlando Romero Reyes

Rosmery Quintero Castro

Horacio Guerrero García

Adelaida Jiménez Cortés

Carlos Alfonso Rosero

Olga Lilia Silva López

María José Pizarro Rodríguez​​.

Delegation of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN:

Pablo Beltrán, Head of delegation

Aureliano Carbonell

Bernardo Téllez

Manuel Gustavo Martínez

María Consuelo Tapias

Isabel Torres

Tomás García Laviana

Simón Pabón

Mauricio Iguarán​​.

As observer of the armed forces:

Maj. Gen. Hugo Alejandro López Barreto​​.

As witnesses and depositaries (Guarantor countries):

Glivânia Maria de Oliveira, Federative Republic of Brazil

Eugenio Martínez Enríquez, Republic of Cuba

Jon Otto Brødholt, Kingdom of Norway

Raúl Vergara Meneses, Republic of Chile

Claudia Helietta González Hernández, United Mexican States

Gen. Carlos Martínez Mendoza, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela​​.

Permanent accompanying partners:

Carlos G. Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General

Msgr.

Héctor Fabio Henao Gaviria, Delegate for Church-State Relations, Episcopal Conference of Colombia​​.