He said that next year “certainly provides a window to promote peace as a strategic national objective, and for Colombia and its partners to engage constructively through dialogue to address shared challenges.” particularly in the border area with Venezuela “where the cooperation of all parties is essential.”
Change focus
Mr. Jenča also heads the UN Verification Mission in Colombia and reported on the reorganization outlined in Council resolution 2798 (2025), adopted last October.
The resolution extended the Mission’s mandate by one year and changed its focus to monitor three provisions of the 2016 peace agreement signed by the Government and the FARC-EP rebels:
- Comprehensive rural reform
- Reintegration of ex-combatants
- Security of both ex-combatants and communities in conflict-affected regions
Previously mandatory verification on transitional justice, ethnic issues and ceasefire monitoring was suspended.
Challenges in conflict zones
Jenča has spent the last three months meeting with key counterparts across Colombia, who stressed that all three pillars are important to achieving peace.
During his visits to various parts of the country, he was “surprised not only by the immense challenges faced by communities in conflict-affected regions, but also by their resilience and determination to achieve a better future.”
In some of the most remote areas, daily life is a struggle “due to the actions of different illegal armed actors and the limited presence of the State, public services and development opportunities.”
Limited opportunities
He noted that the reintegration of ex-combatants is essential to the success of peace agreements and ensuring their transition to civilian life is crucial to avoid a return to violence.
“However, nine years after the FARC-EP laid down their arms under the Peace Agreement, The path has been challenging for the more than 11,000 ex-combatants. who are still active in the government’s reintegration program,” he stated.
These men and women often live in remote areas with limited infrastructure, access to markets, and threats to their safety.
“For the authorities, it has also involved great efforts, both financial and programmatic, to facilitate their transition to civilian life,” he added, noting that while substantial progress has been made, more is needed.
“Fertile land” for armed groups
Access to land has progressed in Colombia, but has yet to be fully resolved, Jenča said. Meanwhile, security remains fragile.
Some 487 ex-combatants have died since they laid down their arms. He urged authorities to intensify investigations and prioritize security guarantees for those who signed the peace agreement.
Although violence is much lower now than at the height of the conflict, “the presence of armed groups in areas still affected by the conflict continues to inflict suffering on entire communities.”
This violence is being fueled by a combination of factors and the limited presence of the State “provides fertile ground for armed groups to exert control and illicit economies to prevail.”
Increase in child recruitment
As a result, civilian populations have faced threats, assassinations of social leaders, forced displacement and confinement, and an alarming increase in the recruitment and use of children by armed groups.
The situation in the border areas is particularly complexsaid. The UN Mission team in Cúcuta, a city bordering Venezuela, supports the response to ongoing clashes between rival armed groups.
Thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes in the Catatumbo region, which he described as “a center for coca cultivation and cross-border armed activities and crime.”
‘Holistic vision’ for peace
Jenča insisted that the Peace Agreement can significantly contribute to addressing many of these problems.
“It offers a much-needed holistic vision, providing for the strengthening of the State’s capacity to dismantle criminal structures, promote alternatives to coca cultivation and concrete development measures through its comprehensive rural reform,” he said.