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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <font
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href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Protect-Ex-Farc-Members-or-Risk-Losing-Peace-UN-Tells-Colombia-20190604-0021.html">https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Protect-Ex-Farc-Members-or-Risk-Losing-Peace-UN-Tells-Colombia-20190604-0021.html</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Protect Ex-Farc Members or Risk Losing
Peace: UN Tells Colombia</h1>
June 4, 2019</div>
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<p>The incessant slaughter of ex-combatants of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is a
threat to the nation’s peace process, the<a
href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/06/1039781"
target="_blank"> United Nations said in a statement </a>Tuesday.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em><strong>RELATED: <br>
<a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Colombia-Guerrillas-Innocent-of-Hundreds-of-Violent-Killings-20190528-0017.html"
target="_blank">Colombia: Guerrillas Innocent of
Hundreds of Violent Killings</a></strong></em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The murder of<a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Colombia-Police-Gun-Down-Ex-FARC-Guerrilla-Community-Enraged-20190425-0028.html"
target="_blank"> Dimar Torres Arevalo</a> outside of a
National Army Camp in April triggered a call for justice
from both the U.N. special rapporteur and the Work Group
on Enforced Disappearances.</p>
<p>"This attack is a challenge for the peace process since
it does not comply with the Final Agreement that
requires respect for the lives of all ex-combatants who
lay down their arms. Therefore, it is a violation of the
guarantees agreed by Colombia,” an official
statement said.</p>
<p>According to the U.N., members of Torres Arevalo’s
community notified six independent experts of the man’s
disappearance and the state military’s apparent
disinterest in the case or his whereabouts. A fresh
grave, three shovels, and the Torres’s remains were
later found near the military base.</p>
<p>Along the Venezuelan border, Torres was making his way
home after leaving his village to buy tools when police
officers shot and killed him at an army checkpoint.
Witnesses at the scene say police tried to blame the
shooting on Torres, saying he reached for an officer’s
weapon. However, after villagers of the Carrizal
community stumbled on the grave, authorities took
responsibility for the death.</p>
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<p>U.N. officials denounced the compounding number of
deaths and demanded the state take action to
investigate this case and others. Colombia must “cease
inciting violence against demobilized individuals” and
realize the important role the nation must play to <a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Colombians-Protest-After-Infant-of-FARC-Ex-Militant-Murdered-20190417-0029.html"
target="_blank">protect ex-combatants and their
families</a> and see perpetrators are brought to
justice.</p>
<p> “Ignoring guarantees pledged to former rebel
fighters increases the prospect of them deserting the
peace and reintegration process and the possibility of
them joining dissident groups or taking up arms again
to protect themselves,” the U.N. warned, adding
that “the government must take immediate steps to
implement the peace accords.”</p>
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<p>The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human
Rights (Ohchr) presented its annual 2018 report on March
14, stating that President Ivan Duque will have a
"historic responsibility to continue implementing the
Agreement."</p>
<p>As Colombian defense budget increased by more than five
percent, the Human Rights body encouraged Duque’s
government to prioritize public spending on prevention,
since the U.N.’s Secretary-General estimated that
prevention measures could reduce costs generated by
violence and conflicts by up to 30 percent.</p>
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