Riots, conflicts and war

Sustainable Development is essential to achieving more peaceful and just societies and the United Nations counts on the private sector to help in this effort. The BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) has contributed its experience in the finance sector to the report entitled “Business and SDG 16: contributing to peaceful, just and inclusive societies,” drawn up by the Sustainable Development Goals Fund and the University of Pennsylvania.

International Red Cross Day is celebrated each year on May 8 to commemorate the birth of the organization’s founder, Henry Dunant. After witnessing war first-hand, the Geneva businessman wrote a book that inadvertently gave rise the the largest humanitarian aid society in history.

Now that the end of 2016 is just a few hours away, it may be the right time to take a look at some of the highlights of a politically charged year.  Elections, referendums, resignations and international events marked the course of the world and grabbed endless headlines.

After enduring over 40 civil wars during the 19th century, the 20th century brought the rise of the guerilla warfare to Colombia. Today, in the midst of the 21st century, the country still does not know what it means to live in peace. But hope remains alive today more than ever, thanks to the strides made in the negotiation process that Juan Manuel Santos’ government is holding with the two only guerrillas that remain active in the country, and in Latin America at large: The FARC or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the ELN or National Freedom Army. Signing a final deal with these two groups would mean the end of one of the world’s longest-running conflicts in the world.

Negotiations between Juan Manuel Santos’ government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) began in 2012. Talks with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) will start in May. It has been a long, complicated peace process. While a definitive peace agreement is still pending, the steps taken so far can be considered milestones in Colombia’s history.