One of the world’s oldest violent conflicts could be near an end because of a novel idea in peacemaking: Let civilians participate. Last Friday, the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas signed procedural agreements that not only plan for a 180-day cease-fire but also open a way for civil society to track and verify the deal.
“Let this be the people’s agreement,” said ELN chief negotiator Pablo Beltrán during the signing ceremony in Cuba.
Allowing civilians to monitor the cease-fire would set the stage for them to participate in the details of a final peace agreement, which Colombian President Gustavo Petro expects by 2025. The guerrillas might end their violent tactics if the deal begins to fulfill the social and economic goals that inspired them to take up arms in the 1960s.
Colombia already has experience in bringing civilians into a negotiated peace agreement. During talks that cemented a 2016 pact with a larger guerrilla group known as Farc, tens of thousands of victims of that war were at the table. Organized into a political force, they played a key role in shaping the deal and softening the stances of the two sides. Many former Farc members have since become politicians.
This new agreement would include more than civilian groups in the verification of the cease-fire. They would be joined by the United Nations and the Catholic Church, helping to broaden peace efforts beyond a few leaders on either side.
The purpose of the deal, explained a joint statement by the government and ELN, “is to generate the necessary conditions for the civilian population – social leaders, ethnic peoples, women, human rights defenders – to exercise their rights freely in their own territories.”
The agreement was perhaps easier to reach because Mr. Petro is a former guerrilla who became Colombia’s first left-wing president. The number of ELN members is estimated at between 2,000 and 4,000.
The cease-fire is set to start Aug. 3, allowing only a few weeks for both sides to select the civilians who will monitor the pact’s implementation. They, more than others, probably know that peace is not merely the absence of conflict. It also requires inclusion and respect of the interests of a wide section of society. And right now, the main interest of Colombians is a silencing of guns.