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1st LD Writethru: UN Security Council approves creation of mission in Colombia

Xinhua, January 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution to establish a mission to monitor the ongoing peace process in Colombia which aims to end the 50-year conflict between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

According to the resolution, the mission will be a political mission of unarmed international observers, and will work along with the Colombian government and FARC as a trilateral mechanism to monitor disarmament of the guerrilla group and the ceasefire.

The 15-nation Council "looks forward to the contributions of Member States of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to the Mission," said the resolution.

The mission will begin its monitoring and verification activities for a period of 12 months right after the signing of the final peace agreement between the two sides, it added.

The Council members also requests UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to start now preparations for setting up the mission and to present recommendations to the Security Council regarding the size and operational aspects of the mission.

The Colombian government has held several rounds of peace talks with the FARC since November 2012. So far, the two sides have reached consensus on land and rural development, political participation for former rebels, combating drugs and narcotics trafficking, and reparations for victims of the conflict.

The remaining topic is the final accord on the end of the conflict, which both sides are committed to reaching by Mar. 23.

On Tuesday, the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas agreed to request the Security Council to establish the mission. Two days later, the two sides began talks in Havana to discuss the dismantling of right-wing paramilitary forces in Colombia, which FARC considers the biggest obstacle to lasting peace.

After the adoption of the resolution, Maria Angela Holguin, Colombia's minister of foreign affairs, told the Security Council that "such a resolution contributes to the construction of peace in Colombia."

"This concrete mandate of the Security Council will benefit all Colombians and will contribute to building confidence in a country determined to overcome the aftermath of a decades-long conflict that caused too much suffering for generations," she said. Enditem