Colombian Church to discuss peace process in Brussels

The presidency of the Colombian Catholic Bishops' Conference will officially visit Brussels on 10-11 October 2018 to exchange with high-level EU officials on the current situation in Colombia.

Following the Colombian elections, and in view of the ongoing implementation of the peace agreement, the visit will be hosted by COMECE (the Catholic Church in the European Union), together with CIDSE, Caritas Germany, Brot für die Welt and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe. And they will facilitate meetings with representatives of the European Parliament, Commission and External Action Service.

The delegation will be led by Archbishop Oscar Urbina Ortega of Villavicencio and President of the Colombian Bishops' Conference, and Mgr. Héctor Fabio Henao, President of Caritas Colombia, who has worked for decades to achieve peace in his country.

As the European Union has shown significant support for the peace process in Colombia, the delegation is planning an exchange with EU officials on the present situation in the country. There will be particular emphasis on the ongoing implementation of the peace agreement, the peace negotiations, human rights and the internally displaced persons, the influx of refugees from Venezuela and the prospects for socio-economic development.

Two years ago, a peace deal saw Colombia's FARC guerrilla group lay down their weapons, ending Latin America's longest running insurgency. While some areas have been stabilised, in others cocaine production has reached unprecedented levels, murder rates have soared, and criminal gangs have filled the vacuum in areas formerly controlled by FARC.