The armed conflict that Colombia endured for decades has centered on the issue of land. Forced displacement and land dispossession severely affected rural populations, as well as Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, with more than 8 million hectares being seized or abandoned under duress.

The country has the worst land distribution indicators in the region, compounded by a high level of informality in land tenure—according to LANDex, although the legal framework protecting the territorial rights of Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants and the lands of rural communities is well-developed, its implementation is deficient. In this context, peacebuilding requires the structural transformation of the rural sector and a shift away from the exclusionary development model that has prevailed for decades and undervalues peasant farmers and ethnic groups.

The Peace Agreement signed in 2016 includes a Comprehensive Rural Reform, under which measures were established to democratize access to land, resolve socio-environmental conflicts, support family and peasant economies, and promote the participation of rural communities. Although no decisive progress was made toward these objectives following the signing, Gustavo Petro’s rise to power generated high expectations among rural sectors. Current challenges include strengthening institutional frameworks to implement the government’s program, expanding access to credit and subsidies for food production, making progress in defining communities’ land-use rights, and promoting the effective participation of agrarian and grassroots organizations in decision-making.

The armed conflict that Colombia endured for decades has centered on the issue of land. Forced displacement and land dispossession severely affected rural populations, as well as Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, with more than 8 million hectares being seized or abandoned under duress.

The country has the worst land distribution indicators in the region, compounded by a high level of informality in land tenure—according to LANDex, although the legal framework protecting the territorial rights of Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants and the lands of rural communities is well-developed, its implementation is deficient. In this context, peacebuilding requires the structural transformation of the rural sector and a shift away from the exclusionary development model that has prevailed for decades and undervalues peasant farmers and ethnic groups.

The Peace Agreement signed in 2016 includes a Comprehensive Rural Reform, under which measures were established to democratize access to land, resolve socio-environmental conflicts, support family and peasant economies, and promote the participation of rural communities. Although no decisive progress was made toward these objectives following the signing, Gustavo Petro’s rise to power generated high expectations among rural sectors. Current challenges include strengthening institutional frameworks to implement the government’s program, expanding access to credit and subsidies for food production, making progress in defining communities’ land-use rights, and promoting the effective participation of agrarian and grassroots organizations in decision-making.

The CNT has carried out extensive advocacy work to amend Article 64 of the Constitution to recognize peasant farmers as holders of rights and as deserving of special protection—a key step for their cultural and political identity, their rights to land and territory, and their role in caring for the environment.

It has also succeeded in building capacity within various organizations to advocate for women’s rights to land and territory and, as part of the “Stand For Her Land” campaign, has raised public awareness of women’s rights to land and territory through collaborations with major media outlets.

Furthermore, the CNT, together with the World Bank, the FAO, and IFAD, promotes the Convergence Group, through which initiatives are advanced to implement policies related to the multipurpose land registry in partnership with institutions such as the Agustín Codazzi Geographic Institute (IGAC).