Congress Passes Total Peace Bill

By political writing

After seven hours of discussion, the First Committees of the Congress of the Republic approved the Total Peace Bill in the first debate. This is the initiative that extends Law 418 of 1997 known as Public Order.

“The aim of the government is to make peace a state policy that guarantees human security and the building of total peace,” Interior Minister Alfonso Prada said during the debate.

The official explained that this is a legal instrument that aims to “unite the country around peace”.

“All governments need Law 418; The approval of this project will enable us to save lives because it will enable us to disarm the violent and avoid massacres. Our goal is to give Colombia a peaceful society,” said Congress President Roy Barreras.

Parliamentarian Ariel Ávila explained that, as approved this Monday, peace regions will be created in the country where the municipalities of the Development Programs with a Territorial Approach (PDET) are located, which have been affected by the conflict and where criminal organizations are still present. .

With the creation of these regions, investment will be prioritized and a military social service will be created, which will complement the compulsory military service.

He pointed out that this initiative provides the State with tools to negotiate with armed groups. As well as approaches with criminal structures to processes of submission to justice, both dispositions are within the framework of the new concepts: human security and total peace.

“This is great news for the country. Only the discussions in the plenary sessions remain to approve this overall framework that allows the government to generate a public policy of total peace.

Meanwhile, Senator Paloma Valencia criticized the initiative, stating: “The Petro government proposes that partial and total agreements with illegal groups will be public policy; that is, mandatory for all branches. no longer necessary fast track With the signature of the president and the criminals, we are all tied up. It’s an automatic recording.”

He added: “We ask that there is information about what is being negotiated at the multiple tables; but we lost. The government insists on absolute secrecy from Congress and the country.”

Senator Humberto de la Calle, for his part, stated: “No to agreements with deserters. Care and decisiveness with those who did not keep the Havana agreements. The path with them is ordinary justice. If there is room for waiver, it should be those who will be treated in the opinion of the Public Prosecution Service.”

He added: “Reconsider partial and regional agreements at the same time as the main conversation. The agreements must not lose their capacity for coherence and coordination. Remember the Havana saying, “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”