Anti-government rebel groups have backed off threats to disrupt the United Nations biodiversity summit in Colombia later this year.
The guerrilla group, the Equatorial Guinea Central Chiefs of Staff (EMC), which rejected the 2016 peace deal, said on Wednesday it was ordering its fighters not to target the COP16 negotiations, due to start in Cali in October.
In early July, EMC published a statement online saying the summit “will fail,” raising fears that rebels might attack the meeting.
“To show our will for peace, we have decided to order our forces not to affect the normal course of COP16, which will soon be held in the city of Cali,” the group’s leader, Nestor Gregorio, known by his fighting name Ivan Mordisco, said in a video message on X.
On July 16, the Colombian Ministry of Defense The ceasefire ended The increased violence led to the dissolution of part of the EMC, led by Mordisco, and the group has been blamed for a series of bombings and shootings in and around Cali.
About 12,000 soldiers and police are due to be deployed in the month leading up to the summit to ensure the security of delegates and ministers from around the world.
The Colombian government did not comment on EMC’s announcement. In response to initial threats of disruption, authorities had issued a statement reassuring those planning to attend: “The safety and health of all participants, attendees and collaborators is our top priority. All safety measures are being taken to ensure that the conference is successful and runs smoothly. We send a message of reassurance to all participants, delegates, media and stakeholders,” the statement read.
The Colombian government announced late last year that it would host COP16 after Turkey withdrew from the summit due to an earthquake that devastated parts of the country. Under President Gustavo Petro, Colombia has established itself as an international leader on environmental issues, becoming the first major oil, gas and coal producer to join the alliance calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty at COP28 last year.
Petro’s government has been successful in reducing deforestation, but progress has been hampered this year by the El Niño weather phenomenon and tensions with EMC, which manages large swaths of rainforest.
At the last UN Biodiversity Summit, COP15 to be held in Montreal in 2022, governments Once-in-a-decade deal To prevent the destruction of the Earth’s ecosystem.
