Colombia’s government is looking to international donors, aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations to help kickstart a rapid development program after a peace deal with the country’s largest rebel group is signed.
The 18-month Rapid Response plan, or “RR,” will be activated immediately if a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is ratified in a national plebiscite set for Oct. 2. The country’s Presidential Agency for International Cooperation is seeking $3.3 billion in international grants over the next three years to help fund post-conflict programs.
The RR aims to avoid some of the pitfalls that have unraveled previous peace accords across the globe in their first year after signing, according to the post-conflict ministry. Accords can fall apart, the RR plan warns, if promised initiatives take too long to get started, armed actors leave vacuums for other illegal activity, and reconciliation flails.