At the end of its seventh year, implementation of the 2016 Colombian Peace Accord is at a crucial moment, marking the halfway point toward realizing the envisioned transformation and lasting peace for the country.

A new report from the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM), part of the Keough School of Global Affairs’ Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, outlines the current status of peace accord implementation and identifies key advances and challenges facing the peace process as it enters the second half of its 15-year implementation plan.

The institute’s eighth comprehensive report, “Seven Years of Final Accord Implementation: Perspectives to Strengthen Peacebuilding at the Halfway Point,” offers a year-long analysis, from December 2022 to November 2023, which is supported by quantitative and qualitative data on the implementation of all 578 stipulations within the text of the agreement.

This reporting period was marked by various political, economic and social events that shaped its course. First, a significant part of the national government’s agenda was geared toward implementing the Total Peace policy, which seeks to establish new dialogues and negotiations with illegal armed actors operating within Colombia to bring comprehensive and sustainable peace to the country. Second, regional elections in October 2023 and the adoption of the 2022-26 National Development Plan, “Colombia: A World Power for Life,” aimed at strengthening Final Accord implementation, also influenced the reporting period.

At the end of the seventh year, data show that 10 percent of stipulations have not yet begun implementation, 39 percent are minimally implemented, 19 percent have reached an intermediate state and 32 percent have been completed.

With the exception of Point 4 of the Final Agreement, on the Problem of Illicit Drugs, all points experienced changes in their implementation levels. Point 1 on Integral Rural Reform and Point 6 on Verification and Monitoring Mechanisms were especially dynamic, with changes in all levels of implementation. Nevertheless, Point 1 remains one of the least implemented points in the peace agreement.

While implementation has not stopped in the past seven years, the Kroc Institute has documented limited changes in implementation levels since 2019. This trend reversed slightly in 2023: Two percent of stipulations initiated implementation, an increase over the 1 percent change documented in 2022.

Comprehensive peace agreements that achieve the highest levels of implementation are typically those that maintain momentum, especially in the early- to mid-term phases of the implementation process. Though the Colombian Final Accord hasn’t stagnated, there is lack of evidence showing feasible completion of the remaining 49 percent of commitments within the 15-year deadline. It is imperative that implementation levels progress to reach implementation goals set out in the peace agreement.

The Kroc Institute found that while the disparity in implementation levels may be attributed to sequencing the complex reforms established by the accord, the disparity could also be attributed to implementation not occurring as effectively or comprehensively as the accord intended, especially when integrating the transversal gender, ethnic and territorial approaches.

The eighth comprehensive report concludes with some priorities specifically aimed at strengthening the implementation process of the Final Accord. Priorities include a transparent, effective and timely execution of the National Development Plan, convening the Peace Cabinet created by the Total Peace Law and reviewing the Framework Plan for Implementation to assess and recommend necessary adjustments.

Alongside the full Spanish report, the Kroc Institute has produced a policy brief, in English, highlighting key points of the report. The Kroc Institute will also hold a live virtual launch event at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday (May 8). Click here to register to attend.

The Kroc Institute has released seven prior reports on the status of overall implementation, as well as four reports on implementation of gender provisions, two reports on implementation of ethnic provisions, a special report on the implementation of the Final Agreement from the perspective of victims’ rights, and a special report on the environmental challenges. Review all reports here. 

Access the policy brief in English here.

Access the full report in Spanish here.

Originally published by Jena O’Brien at kroc.nd.edu on May 7.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu