| Important news has broken over the last two weeks in Colombia... The Colombian Government and the FARC announced the successful completion of the peace negotiations. Days later both the Colombian President and the leader of the FARC declared a definitive ceasefire. Although some final steps remain it has been hailed as the end of the Colombian civil war. The ceasefire came into force on Monday 29th August. Justice for Colombia has been working directly with the peace negotiators in our new role as official advisors to the talks and we have been working to increase the international monitoring of the implementation stage. See here for our reaction to the latest developments. There is still an important final hurdle to cross and that is a referendum to be held on 2nd October in which Colombians will vote on whether to support the final agreement. The success of the referendum is by no means guaranteed - the anti-peace positioning of the influential ex-president Alvaro Uribe continues to threaten the process. Colombian activists throughout the country have however already begun their campaigns in support of a yes vote. Sadly, as has been the case throughout the development of the peace process, the killing of political activists has continued in spite of the ceasefire. In other big news Miguel Angel Beltran the Colombia trade unionist and academic who has been in and out of prison since 2009 was finally released after a long running Justice for Colombia campaign supported by the UCU. Thanks to every trade union and individual who supported the campaign for his release! Every letter, every signature, every click has made a difference! We hope that Miguel and his family will now truly be able to live a life of peace. For peace and social justice! The JFC team |