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Lithuanian experts are attending an expert meeting in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, on 10-13 May, which focuses on an action plan to demine the country from mines left over from the long-lasting ongoing fighting in Colombia among the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), other armed groups and the Colombian government forces.

Lithuania supports the Global Demining Initiative for Colombia, co-led by the United States and Norway, and has already allocated a voluntary contribution to a European Union Trust Fund to support the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Colombia for the post-conflict phase. In the meeting in Colombia, Lithuania is represented by a representative of the Development Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and a de-mining expert of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

Colombia, which steps on a path toward peace process, needs not only financial and expert support. Colombia is one of the most mine-affected countries and second on the list of countries with the most casualties of mines: 31 out of the 32 administrative departments in Colombia are still mined; mines kill hundreds of people, particularly children, each year. Therefore, before beginning the process of restoration of statehood in the country, which has faced civil war in the last 50 years, first of all, it is necessary to ensure a safe living environment for the country’s population. Only after restoring peace and ensuring a safe environment for the local people and international donors can we expect support for democracy promotion and civil society strengthening, economic and governance reforms, economic growth and attraction of international investment.

The Colombian government opened peace talks with the FARC in 2012. Cuba and Norway played a support role as “guarantors” of the talks. In September 2015, the President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos and the country’s leading military commander for the FARC Rodrigo Londoño signed an agreement on transitional justice.

Colombia was one of the few countries that did not recognize de jure the incorporation of Lithuania into the USSR. Currently, about 200 Lithuanians and people of Lithuanian descent live in Colombia. Most of them settled there in the years after World War II.