Accord between the National Government, the Political Parties, the M-19 and the Catholic Church in the capacity of a moral and spiritual guide for the process The political pact for peace and democracy, agreed upon on the 2 of November 1989, contains fundamental aspects for the realization of national reconciliation. The issues of greatest concern to the country today were addressed in the discussions that resulted in the agreed upon conclusions presented in this Pact: the administration of justice, narco-trafficking, electoral reform, public investment in areas of conflict and, of course, peace, public order and the normalization of civic life. With the objective of successfully completing the peace and reconciliation process with the M-19 it is necessary to legalize those agreements and incorporate additional elements to replace those which formed part of the Constitutional Reform not completed in 1989. Therefore, the signatories of this document assume the following commitments, all of which are derived from agreements already achieved and from the will to successfully finalize this effort at pacification: 1. We agree on the necessity of – through the normal mechanisms of Constitutional Reform or through the convocation of the Constitutional mandate of the people through a Constituent Plebiscite, Referendum or Assembly – approving issues of primary importance to the realization of peace and strengthening the state’s institutional legitimacy. We commit ourselves to pursuing the political agreements necessary in order to realize this task of the expansion of democratic spaces. However, the decision that is taken in this respect must be preceded by a broad consensus that must include the consent of those who occupy the Presidency of the Republic. 2. In order to allow for the incorporation into civilian life of the guerrillas and their transition from armed struggle into political life the parties commit themselves to supporting the establishment of a one-off Peace Constituency for political parties emerging from armed movements who have been demobilized and reincorporated into civilian life. Said Constituency for the Senate of the Republic and the House of Representatives will be later applied to the 1992 elections, and its characteristics will be defined by the signatories in a future agreement. 3. In regard to the National Peace Fund as envisioned in the Political Pact, designated to promote initiatives and programmes for the benefit of communities in the areas in which the demobilized guerrillas have held influence, can have its funding added to by the government, private enterprises and by those international foundations that are prepared to offer their support to this initiative. A high level commission will be created for the Administration and Promotion of this fund that will undertake these objectives. 4. The signatories of this accord support an Electoral Reform that will have the following basis: • With the objective of extending electoral opportunities and modernizing the voting procedures it would establish a Electoral Card and a secret ballot for mayoral elections as of 1992 and it would examine the technical possibilities of incorporating these into the Public Corporations elections as of 1994. • Similarly, with the objective of expanding the space for political participation measures increasing the extension of parliamentary representation for minorities would be adopted through mechanisms such as the National Constituency and National Territories. 5. Regarding the administration of justice, the national government will issue a decree corresponding to the creation of an Exploratory Commission on the Integral Reform of the Administration of Justice according to the terms stipulated in the Political Pact. Said Commission according to the above mentioned criteria would function during a period of three years and would be authorized at the highest level. Its aim would be primarily to propose strategies for the reform of the justice system in substantive, administrative, budgetary, personnel and procedural areas. 6. Regarding the issue of the production, trafficking and consumption of narcotics the Minister for the Interior, acting in the name of the national government will create a non-governmental Commission of Academic Nature, with full autonomy and independence, which will investigate the national and international dimensions of the phenomenon. The Commission will be composed of academics from public and private universities and from research centres of recognized prestige. 7. Regarding the remaining political and socio-economic issues and issues regarding peaceful coexistence, justice and public order agreed upon in the Political Pact, the government will begin application and implementation as of the date when the group lays down its arms. 8. The M-19 as of this date declares that all of its armed fronts have been demobilized and its members incorporated into the institutional life of the country. Similarly it announces that it has decommissioned all of its weapons, munitions and war materials before the International Socialist Commission, designed for this purpose. The national government created a National Council for Normalization through Decree 314 of the current year in order to coordinate all of the Demobilization Plan. The national government as of this date will grant amnesty to the members of M-19 and will begin the agreed upon programmes of social reinsertion and income generation. The M-19 similarly reiterates that all of its members accept this agreement and that as an armed group it ceases to exist. 9. The Signatories of this agreement commit themselves to the formation of Follow-up Commission (with one member from each signatory) with the objective of detailing and making viable the commitments subscribed to here. 10. The Security Plan will be implemented according to the terms agreed upon by the national government and the M-19 in December 1989. The said Plan will be in force until 7 August 1990, with the necessary revisions that will be agreed upon by the representatives of the national government and the M-19. The need to maintain an appropriate level of security and protection for the principal leaders of the M-19 after 7 August 1990 is stressed.The signing of this accord concludes a decisive stage for the preparation for peace and the re-establishment of harmony that has been the wish of several generations of Colombians. Today we can hold genuine hope that common sense and generosity will impose themselves over intransigence and radicalism and that in the near future political ideals will not be the cause of killing between Colombians. The National Government, the political parties and the M-19 are in agreement on the significance that the undertaking of this accord has for the country. It opens the road to reconciliation. It shapes the conditions in order to continue advancing in the search for pacification. It offers procedures and instruments in order to implement political solutions. In other words it demonstrates how, through the transformation of the parties’ genuine will for peace into concrete actions, the pursuit of peaceful coexistence can be achieved. Signatories: VIRGILIO BARCO
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