The Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) have indicated that the bilateral, national and temporary ceasefire will be for a period of six months.
The agreement was reached as a result of the third cycle of talks between both parties and has been considered a significant step towards peace in the country.
The document was signed by the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, and the ELN commander, Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista, alias Gabino, as well as by the guarantor countries and accompanying parties. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, who represents the Cuban government as guarantor of the peace process, read the agreement in its entirety.
The agreement contemplates a stage of enlistment, preparation, implementation and verification of the bilateral ceasefire. Its full execution will begin on August 3. According to Foreign Minister Rodríguez, the dialogue table between the parties will enter into a permanent activity that will combine different work modalities in different scenarios and times, maintaining the cycles of conversations.
The first point of the agreement focuses on the preparations for the participation of society in the construction of peace. Society will be summoned to participate in the peace process and preparatory teams will be formed for the installation of the National Participation Committee. The operating regulations and the work plan of this committee will be prepared and presented publicly on July 25, 2023.
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The second point of the agreement establishes a bilateral, national and temporary ceasefire for a period of six months. A recruitment process will be carried out that will include the drafting of pending protocols, pedagogy activities, and preparation for the monitoring and verification mechanism. As of July 6, 2023, the parties will order the cessation of offensive operations.
On July 10, 2023, a plenary and face-to-face meeting of the peace dialogue table will be held to approve the protocols developed during the enlistment period. On August 3, 2023, the full implementation of the bilateral ceasefire readiness process will begin, with the full application of the protocols and the full operation of the monitoring and verification mechanism in all its instances.
As of that date, the 180 days of validity of the enlistment process of the bilateral ceasefire will begin, which may continue after an evaluation by the parties. In addition, it was defined that the fourth cycle of negotiations will take place between August 14 and September 4, 2023 in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, where a balance of the agreements signed so far will be made.