Colombia Asks UN to Drop Rural Reform by 31 October

COLOMBIA · DIPLOMACY

Colombia asked the UN Security Council on Monday, 12 October, to strip rural reform from the UN mission that monitors its 2016 peace deal. Foreign Minister Omar Bula said the mission should stay, but concentrate on former guerrillas and their safety.

The United States welcomed the idea at the same meeting and praised Abelardo De la Espriella, the conservative president since 7 August. The mission’s mandate expires on 31 October, so a slimmer UN role in Colombia could be settled within weeks.

What Colombia Asked the Security Council

Bula was speaking at his first Council session as foreign minister. He proposed that the mission focus on two tasks: reintegrating former FARC fighters and the security guarantees promised by the deal.

Rural reform, he argued, is a structural public policy that should become a permanent part of Colombia’s own institutions. “Our commitment remains intact,” he told the 15-member Council, the UN body in charge of peace and security.

This land chapter is the first part of the 2016 deal and promises land, roads and services to poor farming regions. The Council added it to the mission’s job in 2023.

Bula said the final decision belongs to the Council and that Colombia does not seek to change any resolution on its own. Colombia itself holds one of the Council’s 10 elected seats for 2026 and 2027.

Why Washington Welcomed the Plan

Ambassador Jeffrey Bartos, the US representative for UN management and reform, welcomed “Colombia’s determination to take ownership of rural reform.” He added that the mission should keep its core verification work and field presence.

The Council should “focus on core mandates, and deliver results rather than perpetuate missions indefinitely,” Bartos said. He also praised De la Espriella for ending peace talks with armed groups inherited from his left-wing predecessor, Gustavo Petro.

Bartos said the United States had sent more than US$26.5 million in aid after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit Colombia on 10 August. He said Washington looks forward to a deeper security partnership against groups that have preyed on “Colombians and Americans alike.”

The US is one of five permanent Council members with a veto, so its support carries weight. In the 2025 renewal, it insisted on dropping two tasks: the deal’s chapter on ethnic communities and sentences from its special peace court.

The Violence Behind the Government’s Case

Bula told the Council that 132,930 people were murdered in Colombia between July 2016 and August 2026. He also cited nearly 100,000 extortion cases and more than 2,750 kidnappings.

He said armed groups grew from about 6,000 to almost 30,000 members since the deal. Coca, the plant used for cocaine, covered about 253,000 hectares in 2023, roughly 980 square miles.

Miroslav Jenča, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative who leads the mission, cited government data given to Colombia’s Congress. Illegal armed groups grew from about 15,000 members in 2022 to roughly 28,000, he said.

Jenča added that 501 former FARC fighters have been killed since 2016, the latest on 22 September in the northern province of Cesar.

What the UN Mission Does

The Security Council set up the UN Verification Mission in Colombia in 2017 to check that the 2016 deal is carried out. It runs 29 offices across the country, according to Jenča.

More than 11,000 former FARC members remain in the reintegration process. They have started about 6,000 productive projects and 300 cooperatives, from coffee to tourism.

Jenča said better services, jobs and stronger local institutions are the main aims of the deal’s rural reform chapter. Development plans the mission monitors, he said, help extend the state into conflict zones.

What It Means for You

If the Council agrees, there would be less international oversight of Colombia’s land policy and more weight on security. Bula also cited 119 extraditions signed by the president, which he presented as cooperation against transnational drug trafficking.

In August, Agriculture Minister Indalecio Dangond announced a 90-day pause on land handovers and titling for review. Investors in farmland and rural projects should watch when titling restarts.

For travellers, nothing changes in the short term, because the mission monitors the deal and is not a security force. Rural areas still see armed-group violence, and Jenča condemned the 1 September killing of two community leaders in Cauca, in the southwest.

What Is Not Known

No vote date has been announced. Britain, which drafts the Council’s texts on Colombia, is preparing the resolution and already talking to Colombia, El Tiempo reported.

In 2025, most other members wanted to keep the two tasks the US cut, according to Security Council Report, a New York research group. It is unclear whether this year’s Council will accept the new cut.

Bula said the Agriculture Ministry has the legal tools to keep land policy going, but he named no outside body to monitor it.

More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the UN Verification Mission in Colombia?

It is a UN political mission the Security Council created in 2017 to monitor Colombia’s 2016 peace deal with the FARC guerrillas. Its main tasks include checking the reintegration of former fighters, their security and the land chapter of the deal.

Why does Colombia want rural reform taken out of the mandate?

Foreign Minister Omar Bula said rural reform is a long-term public policy that Colombia’s own institutions should run. He wants the UN to focus on former fighters and security guarantees.

What did the United States say?

US Ambassador Jeffrey Bartos welcomed Colombia’s plan to take ownership of rural reform. He said the Council should focus on core tasks and not extend missions indefinitely.

When must the Security Council decide?

The mission’s current mandate expires on 31 October 2026. The Council must adopt a new resolution before then to keep the mission running.

Sources: Cancillería de Colombia, Bula at the UN Security Council, 12 October 2026; Cancillería de Colombia, full text of Bula’s statement to the Security Council, 12 October 2026; US Mission to the UN, remarks at a Security Council briefing on Colombia, 12 October 2026; UN Verification Mission in Colombia, remarks by SRSG Miroslav Jenča, 12 October 2026; UN News, Colombia peace deal must endure as insecurity grows, 12 October 2026; UN News (Spanish), Colombia must ensure continuity of the peace deal, 12 October 2026; El Tiempo, government backs extending UN mission but proposes excluding rural reform, 12 October 2026; Security Council Report, Colombia quarterly meeting, 11 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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