| Dear Supporter, Today marks a new beginning for Colombia. After 52 years of war, and four years of negotiations, the Colombian government and the FARC are formally signing the peace accords that both parties approved a month ago in Havana. LAWG celebrates this joyous day and praises all Colombians who worked so long and hard for peace. And we congratulate and thank YOU who have stood by them throughout this arduous journey!
The signing of this document officially marks the beginning of the end of the longest-running conflict in the Western Hemisphere—a conflict in which more than 220,000 people, over 80 percent of them civilians, were killed.
While today’s signing is a great achievement, there is still plenty of heavy lifting ahead to make peace a reality. We still need to stand with communities torn apart by war, and with the more than 8 million victims of the conflict, to make sure they have real access to truth and justice. We must continue to support human rights defenders, many of whom are still in peril. We have to remain vigilant and make sure that the accords' promises, especially those regarding Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, are fulfilled in their entirety. We must continue building peace from the ground up to guarantee that the brutal past will not be repeated.
And, we have to ensure our government wholeheartedly supports and funds peace—and opens the books on the war by declassifying U.S. documents for the proposed truth commission.
But today, let's celebrate this momentous step towards peace. ¡Sí a la paz! Get involved! - Tell your representative to sign this letter congratulating President Santos and the Colombian people for concluding the peace accord. [Hurry—the deadline is TODAY!]
- Share the good news with your friends! Everyone should be celebrating the beginning of peace in Colombia.
Join the Celebration on Social Media
Click on a tweet to post it on Twitter:
In gratitude and hopefulness,
Andrea, Lisa, and Oliver
The LAWG Colombia Team
P.S. LAWG Director Lisa Haugaard is in Colombia this week for the signing of the accords—follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates straight from Cartagena! Also, don't forget to sign up for our Colombia News Brief to receive our weekly news bulletin.
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