Tánaiste congratulates President Santos of Colombia on Tipperary International Peace Award

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Tánaiste Simon Coveney congratulates President Santos of Colombia on receiving the Tipperary International Peace Award

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, T.D., has warmly congratulated President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia on receiving the Tipperary International Peace Award.

The Tánaiste said:

“President Santos is an extremely deserving recipient of the Tipperary International Peace Award. President Santos initiated the negotiations between the Colombian Government and the FARC, and throughout showed remarkable courage, commitment and resolve. These negotiations led to the historic peace agreement signed in 2016, ending over 50 years of conflict. This agreement has given Colombians the prospect of a brighter, more peaceful future, with historic strides having already been made in the implementation of the peace accords.”

The Tánaiste went on to say:

“Ireland has a deep and special relationship with Colombia. A strong supporter of the Peace Process throughout, we know from our own experience that achieving lasting peace is a long, arduous but incredibly worthwhile process, and we have been happy to share our own experience of peace building with the Colombian Government. Ireland supports a number of initiatives to foster peace in Colombia, and former Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore acts as the EU Special Envoy to the peace process. We look forward to further strengthening our relationship and continuing to support the peace process with the opening of our embassy in Bogotá early next year.”

ENDS

Press Office 

01 August 2018

Notes to Editors:
• Four years of negotiations between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) concluded in August 2016 with a peace agreement covering integral land reform, political participation by the FARC, illicit drugs, demobilisation and disarmament of the FARC, victims’ issues/transitional justice, and implementation, verification and ratification of the peace agreement.

• The agreement was put to the Colombian people in a plebiscite in October 2016 and was narrowly rejected. Elements of the accord were renegotiated and a revised agreement was approved by the Colombian Congress at the end of November 2016.

• Ireland was a founding member of the EU Trust Fund for Colombia, and we continue to provide funding to the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in their work to support the implementation of the peace accords.

• The Tipperary International Peace Award, has been awarded annually by the Tipperary Peace Convention since 1984. Notable past recipients include Nelson Mandela (1989), Bill Clinton (2000), Malala Yousafzai (2012), Ban Ki-moon (2014) and John Kerry (2015).