On the situation in Colombia after the wave of recent terrorist attacks

C.whereas the current Colombian Government is pursuing a policy called Total Peace, which entails advancing the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC-EP while engaging in dialogue and negotiations with the other armed actors that continue to threaten the civilian population;

D.whereas illegal armed groups have expanded their presence in the country, with the most active criminal group, known as the Clan del Golfo, and others opposing the peace process; whereas this confused and fragmented context has enabled drug trafficking in connection with international mafias;

E.whereas on 11 August 2025, Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was also a candidate in the 2026 presidential elections, died in hospital after being shot on 7 June 2025 at a campaign rally in the Fontibón district of Bogotá;

F.whereas on Thursday 21 August 2025, at least 19 people were killed and more than 40 were injured in two attacks: the detonation of a truck bomb near the Marco Fidel Suárez Military Aviation School in Cali, and a strike that brought down a police Black Hawk helicopter engaged in a coca crop eradication mission in Amalfi, Antioquia;

G.whereas the Colombian Ombudsperson’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo) confirmed that a total of 81 human rights defenders and social leaders were killed nationwide in the first five months of 2025; whereas Global Witness and Front Line Defenders have reported that Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world for human rights defenders; whereas 324 human rights defenders were killed worldwide in 2024 and 2025, 157 of whom were killed in Colombia;

H.whereas during the first half of 2025, 1.45 million people were affected by violence in Colombia – four times as many as during the same period in 2024 – and over 70 200 people were forcibly displaced, 30 % more than in the whole of 2024; whereas reports indicate increased child recruitment and the use of anti-personnel mines;

I.whereas in 2025, the Indepaz Observatory documented 52 massacres, with a total of 172 victims, and the Colombian Ombudsperson’s Office identified at least 11 critical humanitarian emergency hotspots arising from the increase in armed violence driven by the internal fragmentation and expansion of at least 10 illegal armed groups, which are now present in over 73 % of the country (809 municipalities);

1.Strongly condemns the attacks in Colombia and the assassination of Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was both a senator and a candidate in Colombia’s 2026 presidential elections;

2.Expresses its deep concern over the escalating violence in Colombia and condemns any attacks or violence perpetrated against civil society and political actors throughout the country, not only in large cities such as Bogotá, Medellín and Cali; stresses that such attacks could have adverse effects on ongoing peace efforts, social cohesion and the overall stability of the country;

3.Calls on the Colombian authorities to continue their efforts to pursue, promptly identify and bring to justice the instigators of and all those responsible for these attacks, who, in many cases, work in groups that have structures similar to and operate like mafia groups;

4.Calls on Colombia to reject any political polarisation, hate speech and violence, particularly in the context of the upcoming presidential elections, to promote inclusive, dialogue-based approaches to governance and to strengthen the protection of all political candidates and public figures;

5.Recalls its strong support for the implementation of the Final Agreement and the construction of a stable and lasting peace in Colombia; stresses that the successful implementation of the Final Agreement is a key priority not only for Colombia, but also for the European Union and the international community at large;

6.Calls on the Colombian authorities to make full use of the rest of the current administration’s term (just over a year) to accelerate and drive forward the implementation of the Final Agreement; calls on the government and all relevant state entities to provide the necessary support to ensure the safe and sustainable reintegration of former combatants into civilian life; calls on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, the Colombian Government and all relevant actors to ensure the timely issuance and effective implementation of restorative sentences, providing the necessary coordination, resources and support to turn these rulings into actions that serve the victims, uphold accountability and foster reconciliation, while urging individuals appearing before the Special Jurisdiction to fulfil their commitments to peace and justice; calls on the government to build on the momentum achieved in the Comprehensive Rural Reform under the current administration, strengthening institutional coordination and focusing on target regions, while accelerating efforts to meet the targets established in the Final Agreement;

7.Recalls that Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world; is appalled by the fact that environmental defenders face ongoing discrimination, forced displacement and violent attacks, including numerous killings, solely for their peaceful defence of the environment; is particularly concerned by the serious level of insecurity faced by environmental defenders and their families; calls on the Colombian Government to urgently provide protection for environmental defenders;

8.Calls on the Colombian Government to prioritise climate action and environmental justice, integrating ecological considerations into security policies, rural development and post-conflict reconstruction efforts;

9.Highlights that gender-based violence is a persistent scourge hindering the important work of women human rights and environmental defenders, the work of women social leaders, the reintegration of women former combatants and the dignity of Colombian women in general; regrets the fact that, despite institutional efforts, conciliation between victims and perpetrators continues to be a common practice among local authorities, hampering victims’ access to comprehensive assistance, including access to justice, and normalising violence in their communities;

10.Is concerned by the fact that ethnic communities continue to face acute security issues in several regions, including violence against indigenous and Afro-Colombian social leaders, human rights and environmental defenders and former combatants;

11.Calls for the presence of the Office of the UN High Commissioner to be strengthened in Colombia and for the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia to continue;

12.Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EEAS and the Member States to continue to exert pressure on the Colombian Government and to consistently push for the comprehensive implementation of the Final Agreement, progress in the investigation of the criminal structures responsible for drug trafficking and attacks on social and political leaders and human rights defenders, and the implementation of guarantees and preventive security measures;

13.Calls on the EEAS and the Member States to prioritise support for action, including financial support, for the implementation of the Final Agreement, with a particular focus on the gender dimension and the inclusion of indigenous people, rural communities and Afro-Colombian communities; calls on the Colombian Government to urgently strengthen its institutional capacity on gender and the inclusion of indigenous peoples, rural communities and Afro-Colombian communities, including by approving and implementing a specific protection strategy, under the national reintegration policy, for women former combatants, as an essential element to address their specific security risks and through an increase in funding for the Ombudsperson’s Office;

14.Calls for the European Union, particularly the EEAS and its delegation in Colombia, to actively support respect for international humanitarian law and the government’s obligation to protect civilian populations;

15.Reasserts its willingness to provide all possible assistance to support the implementation of the Final Agreement; reiterates its call for the EU and the Member States to ensure appropriate and transparent funding to this end, especially through the new EU budget for external action for 2028-2034, in order to provide support for the post-conflict phase, specifically by ensuring ex ante human rights impact assessments, parliamentary scrutiny, accountability and the participation of civil society organisations; stresses that local communities and civil society organisations should have direct access to this funding in order to act upon the priorities expressed by the victims with regard to truth, justice and reparations and the guarantees of non-repetition, with a view to forging stable and lasting peace; reiterates its call on the Commission to ensure the full involvement of Parliament in scrutinising the funds intended for Colombia and the peace process;

16.Recalls its strong support for all human rights and environmental defenders in Colombia and their work; calls on the EU Delegation and the Member States’ representations in the country to strengthen their support for civil society in their engagement with the Colombian authorities, and to use all the instruments available to step up their support for the work of human rights and environmental defenders and, where appropriate, to facilitate the issuance of emergency visas and provide temporary shelter in the Member States;

17.Call for the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to make the implementation of the Colombian Final Agreement a key aspect of the discussions at the EU-CELAC Summit in Colombia in November 2025, emphasising reconciliation, justice for victims, rural development, political inclusion and the consolidation of lasting peace;

18.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and the Government and Congress of Colombia.