COP16 on biodiversity which will be held between October and November in the city of Cali will have “all security guarantees“, as the organizers promised before a threat from dissidents of the extinct FARC guerrilla group to prevent its implementation.
(See: The threat of the FARC dissidents to the COP16 summit: ‘It will fail even if it militarizes’).
“We convey to all participants (…) a message of calm“the UN summit Organizing Committee said in a statement.
On Tuesday, July 16, guerrillas of the Central General Staff (EMC), made up of former guerrillas of the extinct Farc who did not sign the peace in 2016, sent a message to the President Gustavo Petro in which they anticipate that “COP16 will fail even if the city is militarized by gringos (Americans)“.
Cali is the closest city to the territories dominated by the rebels. However, the conference, to be held from October 21 to November 1, features “all security guarantees for it to be successful and without setbacks“, the organizers stressed.
The summit committee, which expects to receive at least 12,000 visitors, exhibitors and diplomats from 90 countries, He recalled that the security plan “It was endorsed by international authorities” and that “it has already begun to be implemented in Cali and the region“.
(See: Colombia advances in final details of security and logistics ahead of COP16).
Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez He assured that high-ranking officers of the public forces will visit Cali this Friday, July 19. “There will be sufficient security” for the event, he noted.
Velásquez had announced the day before that he would intensify operations against thousands of guerrillas under the command of ‘Iván Mordisco’, a rebel leader who began negotiating peace last year but walked away from the table in April.
Cali, the scene of COP16.
After that decision by the rebel leader, half of the EMC remained in the talks and The other 50% intensified their attacks with explosives, especially in towns near Cali.
(See: The Attorney General’s Office requests a contingency plan for COP16).
Since Sunday, July 14, the guerrillas have referred to COP16 on their X account as “Speeches disguised as environmentalism promote militarism” and they accuse Petro of lying with his nature protection policy.
The organizing committee stressed that in order to maintain a “safe environment” works with local and national authorities and the United Nations, and urged participating countries to “maintain their commitment to the protection of biodiversity worldwide.”
Setting the stage for world leaders to discuss the future of the planet’s biodiversityCOP16 is a key international event in Petro’s administration, a staunch defender of nature.
(See: Reports of high hotel rates in Cali due to COP 16 are being investigated).
The Colombian government faces and tries to negotiate with four guerrilla groups: the EMC, a split, the Second Marquetalia (signatory of the 2016 agreement, but who returned to arms) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).
AFP
