peace deal was rejected in a referendum, in part because of concerns over the agreement’s lax justice provisions. On 12 November, the two sides announced a revised peace deal, which was signed on 24 November. The agreement was ratified by Congress on 30 November, after which the FARC was due to begin a sixmonth process of demobilization and disarmament, to be monitored and verified in part by a mission of unarmed UN observers. By the end of the year, FARC combatants had yet to congregate in the concentration zones from where they were due to start the demobilization process, because of delays in making these areas habitable. On 28 December, Congress approved a law to provide amnesties or pardons to FARC combatants and the waiving of criminal prosecutions for security force personnel not under investigation for or convicted of crimes under international law. Those who had served at least five years in prison for crimes under international law will, under certain circumstances, be conditionally released. Ambiguities in the law could result in many human rights abusers evading justice. The modifications made to the peace agreement did not significantly strengthen victims’ rights. However, a provision requiring the FARC to provide an inventory of the assets it acquired in the conflict, which would be used to provide reparation to victims, would, if effectively implemented, be a positive development. The peace agreement established a Special Jurisdiction for Peace – to come into force once approved by Congress – to investigate and punish those responsible for crimes under international law, a truth commission and a mechanism to locate and identify those missing as a result of the conflict. Despite some positive features, however, it fell short of international law and standards on victims’ rights, including punishments that appeared to be inconsistent with the gravity of certain crimes and a definition of command responsibility that could make it difficult to hold to account FARC and security 124 force commanders for crimes committed by their subordinates. On 30 March, the government and the ELN announced that they would begin peace talks. However, the process had not started by the end of the year because of the ELN’s failure to release one of its high-profile hostages. President Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 7 October for his role in securing the peace deal.4 INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT By 1 December 2016, the state’s Victims’ Unit had registered almost 8 million victims of the conflict since 1985, including some 268,000 killings, most of them of civilians; more than 7 million victims of forced displacement; around 46,000 victims of enforced disappearances; at least 30,000 cases of hostage taking; more than 10,000 victims of torture; and some 10,800 victims of anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance. The security forces, paramilitaries and guerrilla groups were responsible for these crimes. The de-escalation of hostilities between the security forces and the FARC during the year led to a sharp reduction in combat-related violence affecting civilians. But Indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant farmer communities, especially those living in areas of interest to agro-industrial, mining and infrastructure concerns, continued to face human rights violations and abuses. In August, four members of the Awá Indigenous people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in three separate attacks in Nariňo Department. Among the victims was Camilo Roberto Taicús Bisbicús, leader of the Awá Indigenous reservation (resguardo) of Hojal La Turbia, in Tumaco Municipality. In March, more than 6,000 people, mainly from Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, were forcibly displaced from three river areas in Chocó Department as a result of fighting between armed groups. Amnesty International Report 2016/17

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