The Caracas Agenda The national government and the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordination Body (CGSB), as the result of the discussions held in Caracas on 4 and 5 of June, declare that: I. Both the meeting at Cravo Norte and the mechanisms adopted by the government and the guerrillas in order to achieve the presence of the delegates of the CGSB in Caracas constitute significant steps in the re-establishment of mutual trust, the essential ingredient for the continuity of the peace process. II. The credibility of the peace process in the country must be built on the specific actions and conduct of the government and the Coordinator which must contribute to the reduction of violence, in particular those aspects of the confrontation that affect the civilian population. The specific identification of these aspects should be worked on in the following days. III. The government and the Coordinator must confirm that the objectives of the peace process must address as much the definitive solution of the political armed conflict as the generation of policies which aim at definitive eradication the causes that have generated the conflict, keeping in mind the needs of all Colombians, so as to assure their democratic cohabitation and the search for a society which incorporates social justice. IV. After the government and the guerrillas have presented their conceptualization of the peace process and the fundamental elements it constitutes, it has been agreed upon to announce a package of issues constituting a preliminary agenda that will both allow for the continuation the discussions of Caracas and place the peace process in a general perspective in order to be developed in the future. It is understood that the issues annunciated below are to be defined in the talks taking place in the following days focusing on their treatment and the details of their content and parameters. V. The following are the issues selected for discussion, some of which imply bilateral commitments, and are arranged in order of priority for examination: 1. Examine the possibility of agreeing between the government and the Coordinator a formula for a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. 2. The relationship between this process and the National Constituent Assembly, public corporations, political organizations and social sectors. 3. Initiatives against ‘paramilitary’ and private justice groups. Effective initiatives against impunity. Concepts on the doctrine of national security. 4. Human rights. The rights of ethnic minorities. 5. The State, democracy and the conditions for political participation of armed groups. 6. Factors that contribute to the development of national sovereignty, such as the management of natural resources and elements from international agreements that relate to this process, and international economic policy. 7. Ingredients for the democratization of economic and social policy. 8. The design of a process that will permit the development of a phase for the reaching of agreements and practical measures in order to bring about the definite resolution of the armed conflict in Colombia and guarantee the exercise of political activity without the use of arms within the framework of the civic and democratic life of the country, once the requisites for this have been satisfied. 9. Verification of the peace process. 10. Methodology, procedures and regulations of the negotiations and the accords. VI. The government and the Coordinator convene the media and shapers of public opinion to evaluate, with their usual consideration, the content of this declaration, as well as the issues that have been included with only the purpose of later discussion, the focuses, the achievements and the possibility of these. On behalf of the government: Jesús Antonio Bejarano A. Presidential Adviser Andrés González D. Vice-Minister for the Interior Carlos Eduardo Jaramillo C. Adviser to the Peace Council Humberto Vergara P. Adviser to the Peace Council Tomás Concha S. Adviser to the Peace Council Reynaldo Gary P. Adviser to the Commission On behalf of the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordination Body Alfonso Cano (FARC), Iván Márquez (FARC), Pablo Catatumbo (FARC), Humberto Zulanga (FARC), Daniel Aldana (FARC), Miguel Suárez (FARC), Andrés París (FARC), Francisco Galán (ELN), Lucía González (ELN), Diego Ruiz (EPL), Asdrúbal Jiménez (EPL), Observers present Miguel Motta C., Rafael Serrano P., María Cristina Ocampo, Henry Millán, William Ramírez, Oscar Reyes, Jesús Carvajal, Alvaro Vásquez, Hernán Motta, Nelson Berrío, Caracas, 6 June 1991
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