“We have the right to exist as a community, and we will continue to defend it.” On 29 October 2025, at the 5th Meeting, 12th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development of the United Nations in Geneva, José Roviro López, from the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó (Colombia), brought the voice of those who resist violence, the pressure of economic enterprises, and the destruction of land and nature. Roviro reminded everyone that the right to development cannot be imposed from above. It is born from the communities that defend the land, the water, native seeds, memory, education, and the possibility of living in peace. Despite 28 years of threats and attacks, the Peace Community continues to build alternative models of coexistence and agriculture, far from the logic of war and exploitation. Operazione Colomba has accompanied the Peace Community in Colombia for more than 15 years. To listen to all the speeches from the meeting:
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1n/k1nkn3fy8z

On the 5th of June 2025 Operation Dove attended the public act of recognition of international responsibility and of public apology from the President of the Republic of Colombia, Gustavo Petro Urrego, for crimes committed against the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.
The fundamental work of the Peace Community in the constitution of sovereignty, peace and civil disarmament has been recognised, as well as the failure of the judicial system to investigate the crimes perpetrated by the Colombian government against them.
A historic event, that marks the history of resistance and dignity of the Peace Community. An event that we have attended with profound emotion, accompanying the Community from Serrania del Abibe to the city of Bogotà.
We have witnessed the whole Community take off their working boots for a moment, put on some shoes, put down the machete for a few days and bring with them, once again, the pride of being a comunidad campesina.
Landing at 2600 meters of altitude, in the "cold" of the capital: an event awaited for years, through dignity and resistance. 

"Perdón Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó".
This is how President Gustavo Petro Urrego concluded his speech after more than 40 minutes, during which he declared the Colombian government as guilty for the violence in Colombia: "How can there be a continuous massacre of a Community with 300 direct victims over 30 years and the law does not investigate? Where is the Colombian court? Is this not ignominy? Has the Colombian military not directly killed many civilians, the majority of which in San José de Apartadó? Have their ammunitions not been bought with public funds? Have not their uniforms? Have General Rito Alejo del Río's wages not been paid by the Colombian population? Was what he said true?". 

Writing about this environment and the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó may seem difficult.
On one hand, to understand the situation, it would be necessary to understand the history of the Colombian armed conflict and its factions, how each player controls or penetrates the territory, and the geography of the region, resources, and interests at stake.
But we would need more than a few history books —and certainly more space than we have here—for even a brief introduction that could pretend to be comprehensive. Besides, even focusing on the specifics is difficult, out of respect for the stories and suffering of the people involved, and even more so because of the restrictions and rules we must follow for our own safety. Fortunately, it is often the Peace Community itself that lifts these burdens from us, constantly offering examples of what a life of non-violent resistance truly means—a clarity that makes our task much easier than expected. The Peace Community was founded in 1997.

One of the most surprising things I have observed in my time with the environmental and human rights defenders of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó is the way in which the concept of humanity develops.
We can find it in the speeches they make at community meetings, in the political choice to live nonviolent resistance in a conflict zone, in the grief of burying the comrades and companions killed.
We can find it a few weeks after the latest double murder, a few dozen metres from the site of the 2005 massacre, in a boy reading his son a fairy tale before bedtime.