Havana, July 10 (RHC)-- In the midst of the "total peace" policy undertaken by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the delegations of the Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) held on Monday a plenary meeting to discuss the protocols related to the bilateral ceasefire.
The peace delegations of the Government and the ELN met in the Cuban capital in order to approve the eight guidelines for the cessation of hostilities between both parties that should come into effect on August 3rd. For such purpose, a Government sub-commission has been working in Havana on the protocols since June 19, according to Colombian media, both parties have sealed agreement on them.
The members of the Government delegation have been analyzing in Cuba since last Wednesday the documents worked on by the sub-commission. The same has been done by the members of the peace delegation of the insurgent group. The parties have worked separately and will only meet in plenary session this Monday.
Among the protocols to be agreed there is one concerning the evaluation, extension or suspension of the ceasefire. They are also reviewing the one related to the role that the dialogue table will have in the development of the ceasefire, and there will be another guideline on the performance of the Church in the monitoring of the ceasefire.
The review of the security and protection conditions for the members of the Monitoring and Verification Mechanism is another protocol being analyzed by the peace delegations.
Another protocol is related to the security conditions and guarantees for the ELN and the places where it is present; that is, how the guerrilla members will be located and how the separation of forces will be guaranteed.
There will be one more on the social watchdog created by the negotiating table and another one in charge of regulating the humanitarian protection mechanisms. The latter two represent a novelty as they are included for the first time in these cease-fire exercises.
It is hoped that the announcements made between the Colombian government and the ELN will give signs that the next ceasefire will lead to an improvement in the situation of the territories where the insurgent group is present.
On August 14th, the peace delegations of both parties will hold the fourth cycle of dialogue, this time in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
