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Colombia

Monthly Updates

March 2023 | Setbacks to peace process as rebel group and cartel renew violence

President Gustavo Petro’s government has experienced setbacks to its plans for peace in Colombia. Authorities announced the suspension of a ceasefire that had been put in place in the past months with the main drug trafficking group operating in the country, the Gulf Clan, and announced that military operations against this group would be renewed. The government alleges the Gulf Clan did not respect the ceasefire and has instigated terror among civil population. Petro’s plan for total peace has also suffered a blow due to renewed violence, after an army base was attacked with mortar shells, which the government attributes to the National Liberation Army (ELN). Nine soldiers were killed. While a cease-fire with the rebel group had not yet been agreed, peace talks had been undertaken in previous months after a stalemate of years.

January 2023 | Vice-President Marquez is targeted in an assassination attempt

Vice-President Francia Marquez announced that her security detail had detected an explosive device near her family home. Security officers confirmed that due to the circumstances in which such a device had been found, it could be concluded that Marquez had been the target of an assassination attempt. Francia Marquez, the first woman of African descent to hold the vice-presidency, had previously been the target of threats, harassment and a prior assassination attempt, due to her work as an environmental activist.  

December 2022 | Peace talks are renewed between government and left-wing rebels

After over three years of a standstill, the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) have renewed peace talks in Caracas.  Venezuela, Cuba and Norway have acted as facilitators of this dialogue. Talks with the ELN, a left-wing rebel group, and the last to remain active in the country, were suspended in 2019 after an attack against a police academy killed 22 police cadets. In early December, after a first round of talks, Colombian president Gustavo Petro announced that, while a ceasefire had not been reached, dialogue had been successful. An agreement between both sides will allow Indigenous Peoples displaced from western regions of the country to return to their homes, as well as the implementation of emergency care in regions most affected by violence, starting in January.

August 2022 | Gustavo Petro takes office as President of Colombia

On 7 August Gustavo Petro took office as President of Colombia, being the first politician from the centre-left to become elected. In his inaugural addresses, he has pledged to decrease poverty, promote unity and address the economic issues that have exacerbated inequality. He has also indicated a considerable shift in policy regarding Colombia’s relationship with Venezuela and, notably, the ‘war on drugs’. Petro has stated he is considering decriminalizing cocaine, and would seek partnerships with other countries in the region to shift the strategy against drugs, while other members of his cabinet have watered down such remarks.

Explore past monthly updates

GSoD Indices Data 2012-2021

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
51 265 840
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Gustavo Petro (since 2022)
Head of government party
Humane Colombia
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
28.9%
Women in upper chamber
29.6%
Last legislative election
2022
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
8.46
Head of state
President Gustavo Petro
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
10/05/2018
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
86.73%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
American Convention on Human Rights
State Party
Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
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Attributes Over Time

Representative government neutral Representative Government
Dec 2022
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Representative government neutral Fundamental rights
Dec 2022
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Representative government neutral Checks on government
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Representative government neutral Impartial administration
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Representative government neutral Participatory engagement
Dec 2022
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May 2023

GSoD Indices

Regime type
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