Colombia asks UN to remove rural reform from mission mandate — The Rio Times

On October 12, 2026, at a UN Security Council meeting in New York, Colombia asked to remove rural reform from the mandate of the UN Mission verifying the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC group. Foreign Minister Omar Bula proposed focusing the mission's work on the reintegration of former FARC fighters and guarantees of their security, The Rio Times reports.

Colombia's proposal

According to Bula, rural reform should be a sustainable state policy implemented by Colombian institutions. The relevant section of the peace agreement provides for supplying poor rural areas with land, roads, and services. The UN Security Council included monitoring of this area among the mission's tasks in 2023.

The mission's current mandate expires on October 31, 2026. To extend or change its powers, the Security Council must adopt a new resolution with at least nine of 15 votes and no veto from permanent members. A voting date has not yet been set.

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The US position and the security situation

US representative to the UN for management and reform Jeffrey Bartos supported Colombia's intention to independently take responsibility for rural reform. At the same time, he stated that the mission should retain its core verification functions and presence in the regions.

UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and mission head Miroslav Jenča said that 501 former FARC fighters have been killed in Colombia since 2016. More than 11,000 former members of the group remain in the reintegration process and have launched around 6,000 productive projects and 300 cooperatives. According to government data cited by him, the number of illegal armed groups increased from about 15,000 people in 2022 to around 28,000.