Decree No. 0698 of 2026 Establishing the Special Land Acquisition and Allocation Program for Indigenous Peoples and Communities

Decree No. 0698 of July 7, 2026, published on July 8, 2026, adds Chapter 11 to Title 6 of Part 14 of Book 2 and Article 2.14.6.4.17 to Decree No. 1071 of 2015, Colombia's Single Regulatory Decree for the Agricultural, Fisheries and Rural Development Sector. The decree establishes the Special Land Acquisition and Allocation Program for Indigenous Peoples and Communities that lack land or have insufficient land, with the aim of strengthening their territorial, collective and cultural rights, autonomy and self-determination. It establishes a special procedure for the direct acquisition of rural properties and improvements by the National Land Agency (ANT), pursuant to Law No. 160 of 1994 and Law No. 2294 of 2023. The regulation provides a differentiated and priority procedure for Indigenous communities recognized as victims of armed conflict, displacement or dispossession, or involved in collective reparation or territorial restitution processes, in coordination with the competent institutions. It also provides for a preferential purchase option, the immediate initiation of land titling procedures following acquisition, provisional delivery of properties under specified conditions, the establishment of consolidated administrative files and documentary traceability throughout the procedures. Monitoring takes place within the National Commission on Indigenous Territories (CNTI), through periodic reports, publicly available progress indicators and coordinated updates to the land purchase manual. The decree also makes compliance with applicable administrative deadlines mandatory. Its scope is national, and its primary purpose is to improve land access, legal security of tenure and the protection of Indigenous territorial rights. The stated outcomes represent expected regulatory objectives rather than empirically verified impacts.