A/HRC/43/3/Add.3 C. Comprehensive Rural Reform 64. The peace agreement set out an agenda of comprehensive rural reform, stipulating the effective participation of communities at all stages. Its stated objectives are to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce the gaps between rural and urban areas, and promote equality by strengthening rural economies and improving access to land for peasant families and communities. This reform was initiated in 2017 with the adoption of regulations to promote the formalization of land titles and land allocation. 65. In order to achieve its objectives, the Comprehensive Rural Reform envisaged the establishment of a range of plans, entities and mechanisms, including the multipurpose property register (Catastro Multipropósito), 51 Development Plans with a Territorial Approach,52 a Land Fund53 and National Plans for Comprehensive Rural Reform. 54 66. On 30 August in Ovejas, Sucre, 1,158 land titles were provided to local communities, thanks to an initial pilot plan to implement the multipurpose property register. 55 OHCHR hopes that progress will be achieved in the other 22 municipalities included in the pilot plan. 67. In 2018, 16 Development Plans with a Territorial Approach (PDET) were formulated, with high levels of community participation, including by indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian communities. While this generated significant hope for the effective implementation of Development Plans with a Territorial Approach, during the reporting period OHCHR observed few advances, and minimal coordination with other relevant programmes, such as the Collective Reparation Plan contained in the Victims and Land Restitution Law and the Comprehensive National Programme for the Substitution of Illicit Crops. 68. While two National Plans for Comprehensive Rural Reform were approved in 2018,56 no advances were observed in 2019. 69. Rural reforms should lead to more equitable access to land and to improvements in the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living. Such advances hold the promise of contributing to resolving the structural causes of violence. In this regard, the Comprehensive Rural Reform should be supported by an adequate budget to fully implement all of the plans, entities and mechanisms established in the peace agreement, rather than there being a limited focus on Development Plans with a Territorial Approach. However, the 2020 budget was reduced for all the institutions responsible for implementing the Comprehensive Rural Reform. 57 D. Environmental rights 70. The ratification, on 26 August, of the Minamata Convention on Mercury was a positive development. Mercury contamination persisted, however, including in the basins of the Apaporis, Atrato, Caquetá, Cauca and Nechí rivers. This particularly affected indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians and farming communities. 71. In December, Colombia signed the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 12 A tool designed to establish a clear land registration system and to provide information on the physical, legal and economic aspects of the land. Known in Colombia by the abbreviation PDET. Its objective is to carry out rural reforms through participatory planning, particularly in 170 municipalities most affected by the conflict. The Land Fund was created for free distribution of land to rural people without land or with insufficient land. These plans are aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and reducing rural poverty by 50 per cent, with specific plans being developed that relate to rights such as access to health care, education and housing, and to protection of the environment. See https://id.presidencia.gov.co/Paginas/prensa/2019/Ovejas-primera-gran-jornada-masiva-registropredios-municipio-nuestro-pais-piloto-Catastro-Multiproposito-190830.aspx. The national road plan of the transport ministry and the national electrification plan of the mining and energy ministry. See https://www.dejusticia.org/column/una-paz-austera/.