Colombia's landmark peace agreement, signed with the FARC guerrilla group in November 2016, is entering a make-or-break phase. The United Nations has publicly pressed new President Abelardo de la Espriella to keep implementing the deal, warning that the next few years will decide whether a decade of progress holds.
The message came via the UN Verification Mission's latest quarterly report, which Secretary-General António Guterres presented ahead of a Security Council review. He noted this is the third Colombian government to carry the agreement's commitments, and that while De la Espriella's administration hasn't yet published a full implementation strategy, it has said it intends to meet its constitutional obligations. Guterres argued that sticking to the deal actually serves the government's own goals — less violence and a stronger state presence in long-neglected regions.
The sticking points are familiar. Rural reform, a core pillar of the agreement, lags badly: land distribution, restitution and formalisation are slow, and the Agrarian Jurisdiction still isn't fully up and running. Reintegration of more than 11,000 former FARC fighters into civilian life continues, but the UN flagged shaky funding for those programmes. Meanwhile, the UN's mandate runs out on October 31, exactly as set out in the agreement.
Security is the darkest part of the picture. In the reporting period alone, eight former combatants were killed — six in August — bringing 2026's total to 13. Over the ten years since signing, the UN has verified 501 killings of ex-FARC members, plus 185 attempted murders and 56 enforced disappearances. Thousands of people have been displaced by fighting between armed groups, and social leaders continue to be targeted. There's also friction around the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the transitional tribunal that underpins the whole deal, after threats to cut its funding.
So why does this matter if you're planning a trip to Colombia? The peace process is the reason destinations once off-limits — Caño Cristales, parts of the Pacific coast, small towns in Tolima and Santander — have opened up to travellers over the past decade. Ex-combatant killings and armed-group clashes are concentrated in specific rural areas, especially border zones and coca-growing regions, not the main tourist corridors of Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena and the coffee axis. But the UN's warning is a reminder that conditions outside the cities can shift quickly, so it's worth checking current government travel advisories and sticking to well-trodden routes in rural areas for now.
For anyone who has watched Colombia transform into one of South America's most rewarding destinations, the stakes are clear: sustained peace means more of the country stays open and safe to explore. De la Espriella will lay out his administration's position at the Security Council next week, and that review will signal which direction things head.
