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Implementing the FARC Peace Deal: The Devil is in the Detail

Although Colombia's Congress has now passed the renegotiated FARC peace deal, a number of significant hurdles remain before it can be implemented, writes Lloyd Belton.
On 30 November, Colombia’s lower congressional house, the Cámara de Representantes, approved the renegotiated peace deal between the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) militant group. This followed approval in the upper house, the Senate, the day before. For President Juan Manuel Santos, this marks a rapid turnaround in fortune, following the defeat of an initial peace deal in the 2 October referendum. The latest deal was passed unanimously in both congressional chambers after the opposition, led by the Centro Democrático party, boycotted the vote, citing fundamental grievances with the renegotiated agreement. Although many domestic and international media outlets have described the deal’s successful passage through Congress as the definitive last step to securing peace – with the Santos government even going so far as to describe it as Colombia’s ‘D-Day’ – there are a number of details that still need to be finalised before the agreement can be considered fully passed and ratified.
FARC

Crucially, Congress still needs to debate and pass legislation concerning implementation of the accord and the establishment of special peace tribunals. As per Colombian law, most terms pertaining to the FARC peace deal would require up to four debates (or two in each chamber); but some require eight debates (four in each chamber). However, the government has requested use of a so-called ‘fast track’ legislative tool, which would effectively cut the number of required debates by half. The Constitutional Court is currently deliberating this request, but early indications suggest that the majority of its judges support the government’s initiative. Worryingly for the Santos government, however, one judge has claimed that the activation of the ‘fast track’ requires approval from Colombian voters. Given widespread public dissatisfaction with the new peace deal, which many claim is still too lenient on FARC militants, the Santos government runs a significant risk of another defeat if it is forced to hold a second referendum.

Government spokespersons have warned that without the ‘fast track’, implementation of the peace deal risks stalling. For instance, FARC leaders have already rejected calls for militants to demobilise until the terms concerning amnesty are debated and ratified into law by both legislative chambers. Similarly, at the current speed of congressional debate, the special peace tribunals may only be functional in 12 months’ time, even though the government hopes to have all FARC militants demobilised within the next six months. Although the Santos government is trying to accelerate congressional procedures, Congress is expected to go into recess on 16 December and only return in March 2017. The prospects, therefore, that the terms of the peace deal’s implementation will be fully ratified before the end of 2016 remain very low. 

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