The National for the Effective Participation of Victims complied with its IV plenary in the city of Armenia, discussing public policies aimed at improving the quality of life of victims in the territories.

The main slogan of the leaders of victims of the entire national territory gathered in the capital of Quindío is “Yes to the extension, not to the cut of Law 1448”, one of the topics that is most discussed during the meeting of leaders who are It will extend until next Thursday and that will serve as a climax to the work of the current table that will be renewed in the month of November.

There are 61 representatives of victims who live in several regions of the national geography will be gathered this week, to carry out initiatives that promote the welfare of the victim population that is approaching the nine million people today.

“We from the National Government and as a Victims Unit are working hard on the presentation of a bill with an urgent message that allows us to make the extension of Law 1448 a reality, the renewal is being done in an articulated way and will have what is necessary to continue repairing all the victims of the country, guaranteeing the right to participation and that these spaces have a real interference in public policies that are aimed at benefiting the victim population”, argued Lorena Mesa, national deputy director of the Victims Unit.

Among the main goals of this work meeting are: Listen to the problems of the local and departmental participation tables to support and strengthen their management; analyze the action plan of the National Participation Board, with a view to making contributions to the subject of evaluation of Law 1448, to contribute to its extension project; socialize reports of the different delegations that make up the national table, establishing concrete actions in the face of issues of current interest that result in improvements in the public policy of victims, and develop guidelines for the reform of the protocol for the participation of victims.

"We are in a very short time for the country, we need to strengthen our advocacy to support the work we have been doing with the almost nine million victims in Colombia, in their hands and hands of the State is stopping the number of victims, that is why we need to create a space for reconciliation and forgiveness, from the Ombudsman office we are committed to continue guaranteeing the rights of victims and we will work to improve their quality of life and achieve the dream of Peace”, said Giovanni Rojas, Delegate of the Ombudsman office.

The National Bureau will meet during the second working day with the tables of the department of Quindío and the city of Armenia, in order to develop a joint agenda that allows these spaces to be strengthened from the knowledge and experience that each agency It has about current regulations.

“What we intend is to continue the work we have been doing in favor of the victims in Colombia, we want to have a strengthened table and capable of carrying out the process of extending the term of Law 1448, so that we are all who reach the reparation integral to which we are entitled, we do not ignore the state entities for the effort made so far, but I believe that budgets are falling short in the face of so many flaws that the system has”, concluded Odorico Guerra, coordinator of National Victim Board.

The session also included the office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the Provincial Procurator's Office, the Deputy Director of Participation of the Unit Adriana Pinto, the Director of Inter-Institutional Management of the Unit, Aura Helena Acevedo and the Territorial Director of the Unit in the Axis Coffee maker, Laura Moreno Mejía.

(End/EHB/CMC/LMY)