Bogotá, October 1, 2024 – In order to continue guaranteeing the security of the COP16, the most important summit on biodiversity in the world, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad; the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez; the Director of the National Police, General William Salamanca, the Commander of the Armed Forces, Admiral Francisco Cubides, among others, installed a new Unified Command Post (PMU).
“The sample of these three PMUs in the Blue Zone, Green Zone and in Bogota is the capacity deployed by the entire State to guarantee the conditions for COP16. At this moment, more than 100 ministers and 12 heads of state will attend the summit. This generates a great responsibility for all the authorities to ensure that in these two weeks we concentrate on the objective: to have successful international talks”, assured the Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad.
The PMU, which was also attended by the local authorities of Valle del Cauca and members of the United Nations, reviewed progress and future actions around security in preparation for COP16, which will take place in Cali from October 21 to November 1.
Likewise, Minister Muhamad made a vehement appeal to all citizens to advance any type of demonstration in a peaceful and democratic manner: “I call on all the actors of society, the press, the social movement, the citizens of Cali and those who will be participating to express all our positions in a democratic manner, in a spirit of debate, of in-depth social dialogue, on the environmental contradictions that exist in this model of development that needs to be rethought”, she said.
The Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad, together with the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez; the director of the National Police, General William Salamanca; the commander of the Armed Forces, Admiral Francisco Cubides, among other actors, installed the Unified Command Post (PMU) of the COP16 in Bogotá, in addition to those in Cali.
In this sense, the head of the environmental portfolio pointed out that the National Government is working to achieve a light of global hope, which carries the message to the world that Peace with Nature is possible. In addition, she assured that the National Government has advanced an articulated work hand in hand with different actors to generate guarantees and advance in the consolidation that this is the COP of the people.
Security guaranteed for COP16
For his part, the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, affirmed that: “With the important work carried out by the Police and the Military Forces, this security for the COP16 is guaranteed. I join Minister Muhamad's call, this must be an event that generates a lot of participation, but participation in reconciliation, in security, in a common feeling that unites us and, above all, to highlight the name of Colombia for the importance we have reached in security levels”.
The Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad, called on citizens to mobilize peacefully and assured that the National Government has generated all the necessary guarantees for the different actors to advance in the construction of Peace with Nature.
During the PMU, the Carabineros Police unveiled the COP16 Security Viewer, an advanced tool that will allow to monitor all the areas that will take place during the summit.
With 498 police officers in the perimeter of the Blue Zone, 161 in the inner part of the same; 429 police officers in the Green Zone; 150 units of the Military Forces; the Air Force with anti-drone support, among others, Colombia ratifies that it is ready to receive and guarantee the security of the most important biodiversity summit in the world: COP16.
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