Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos, left, walks with Farc leader Joaquin Gomez at a demobilisation site in Fonseca on August 15, 2017. Fernando Vergara / AP
Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos, left, walks with Farc leader Joaquin Gomez at a demobilisation site in Fonseca on August 15, 2017. Fernando Vergara / AP

Colombia declares Farc war over as last guns are taken away to be melted down



Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has declared his country's 50-year conflict with Farc guerrillas finally over, with the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons being rolled away to be melted down.

Mr Santos himself closed a padlock on the last haul of decommissioned rifles on Tuesday before it was taken out of a remote demobilisation camp to formally seal the UN-supervised disarmament by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

"With the laying down of arms … the conflict is truly over and a new phase begins in the life of our nation," Mr Santos said at a ceremony in Pondores, a remote area in the northern Guajira department.

"This is truly a historic moment for the country," he added.

"We have been a republic for 198 years. Never had we had such a long conflict and today is indeed the last breath of that conflict."

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The leftist rebel force has said it will officially transform into a political party on September 1, a major step in reintegrating into civilian life as part of a historic peace deal signed last year.

"Soon we will be holding a founding congress for the new political party that will be called the Alternative Revolutionary Force of Colombia," said one of the Farc's senior leaders, Ivan Marquez, at Tuesday's ceremony.

"We do not want to break with our past. We were and will continue to be a revolutionary force."

The Farc arose in May 1964 from a peasants' revolt, and its ranks were made up mostly of country-dwellers who rallied behind the group's Marxist-Leninist ideology, with land reform its key demand.

In addition to the quarter of a million killed by the conflict between the Farc and Bogota, about 60,000 Colombians remain unaccounted for and seven million have been displaced.

A small rebel group called the National Liberation Army is now in peace talks with the government. But 450 renegade Farc members are refusing to embrace the idea of peace.

For now, former FARC rebels will live in 26 demobilisation camps.

On Tuesday, the Farc also brought out 24 former child soldiers still under the protection of the group. They joined another 88 minors who had already been turned over to the government, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

Amid the sense of exhausted relief that many Colombians feel after so much war, the road ahead is fraught with challenges.

One issue is how to ensure the physical safety of former rebel fighters, who many Colombians feel are getting off too easy. Mr Marquez said two former rebels have been murdered in recent days.

Another, even bigger problem is how the former fighters will make a living.

"The guerrillas do not know what is going to happen to them the day after tomorrow," said Ariel Avila, the director of a foundation that is monitoring the peace accord.

Then there is the issue of justice for atrocities committed during the war.

The accord calls for non-prison punishment for rebels and soldiers who confess to crimes, pay reparations to victims and pledge to renounce violence forever.

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School counsellors on mental well-being

Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.

Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.

Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.

“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.

“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.

“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”

Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.

The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.

At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.

“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.

“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.

"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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