The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

Day: 14 April 2025

Parliamentary Question on the EU’s commitment to the peace process and the situation in Buenaventura.

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The question to the European Commission by Isabel Serra Sánchez MEP on 25 March 2025, on the commitment of the European Union to the urban dialogues that have taken place in the city of Buenaventura, seems important to us. Here is the full text of the question, which can be found on the website of the European Parliament at this link. From the organisations of the civil society we will be waiting and monitoring the response of the European Commission.

EU monitoring of the peace process and situation in Buenaventura (Colombia)

The European Union has been a long-standing supporter of the Colombian Peace Agreement, as well as initiatives under the ‘total peace’ plan, such as the social and legal dialogues between the two main armed groups in the city of Buenaventura, the largest import port, but also the country’s most violent city (according to a statement made during a municipal Security Council meeting, so far in 2025 there has been a 75% increase in homicides compared to the same period in 2024).

The port has not brought development to the wider area: Buenaventura has a multidimensional poverty index three times that of the department’s capital and twice the national average. Afro-descendant communities face daily risks of displacement due to the port expansion project and violence. In March 2024, EU funding of EUR 2.5 million was announced for these peace talks in Buenaventura, which appear to be deadlocked.

  1. Is the European Commission politically monitoring its economic contribution?
  2. What is the Commission doing to ensure the participation of civil society in Buenaventura in the dialogues?
  3. What measures is the Commission taking, via the EU Delegation in Colombia, to help restart the process?

Our solidarity is universal.

We are deeply concerned about all victims of armed conflict, repression and violence around the world — from Sudan to Syria, including the persecution of the Rohingya and so many other crises that often receive less international attention than they deserve. Each of these situations calls for solidarity, remembrance, justice and action.

However, we have decided to specifically highlight the message ‘Stop Genocide in Palestine’ because what is happening in Palestine represents not only a human tragedy of enormous magnitude, but also a direct challenge to the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and to the rules-based international system itself. The indifference and complicity of much of the international community in the face of the apartheid regime imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people represent one of the greatest moral and political contradictions of our time.

The persistent violation of essential norms — such as the protection of the civilian population, the prohibition of collective punishment and respect for proportionality in the use of force — not only has devastating consequences for the Palestinian population, but also erodes the global mechanisms designed to limit the power of states and prevent abuses.

When these rules are repeatedly breached without any effective consequences, the framework that protects all populations in conflict situations, anywhere in the world, is weakened. Therefore, speaking out in this case does not mean ignoring other forms of suffering, but rather emphasising the urgency of defending an international order which, if it collapses, leaves everyone in a more vulnerable position.

Drawing attention to this situation is, therefore, an act consistent with the universal values we uphold: the protection of life, human dignity and respect for international law, without exception.

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