( Spanish) – The Foreign Minister of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo, said this Tuesday that security for the holding of the Conference of the Parties on biodiversity convened in Cali next week, COP16, “is guaranteed” and that more than 150 delegations will be able to attend with “peace of mind.” ”.
Murillo made these statements six days before COP16 begins – which will take place from October 21 to November 1 – and after on Saturday a bloc of dissidents from the dissolved guerrilla group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) called on guests to “refrain” from attending.
The armed group, which in turn is a faction of the self-proclaimed Joint Chiefs of Staff and is headed by alias Iván Mordisco, published that message on its X account—currently suspended—the same day that the government of President Gustavo Petro launched an operation against dissident structures in the department of Cauca.
“We obviously did a standards review process with the United Nations security team and security is guaranteed, there is no risk,” said the official when answering a question about this during a press conference at the UN, where he participated. in a session of the Security Council to learn about the most recent follow-up report on the peace process in Colombia.
So far, according to the chancellor, 150 delegations have confirmed their attendance at COP16, among which will be at least 10 heads of state.
“We want to send a message of tranquility to the world,” Murillo insisted. He added that together with the Minister of the Interior, Juan Fernando Cristo, and other authorities he will meet with Petro to review pending aspects before the start of COP16.
On Saturday, the president responded to the FARC message on his X account, where he disqualified what he considered a threat.
For this year’s COP, countries are expected to present their progress in implementing measures to protect their biodiversity and discuss new global frameworks on this matter, according to their website.
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