Security Council approves deployment of UN mission to Colombia

The UN Security Council on Tuesday approved the deployment of a UN political mission to monitor and verify the implementation of a peace deal in Colombia.

The peace agreement, aiming to end the country's half-century civil war, was reached between the government of Colombia and the country's largest rebel group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last month.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-nation council authorized the deployment of 450 unarmed observers in 40 widely dispersed locations across Colombia to oversee the ceasefire and laying down of arms between the two sides.

It also approved the recommendation that the mission share with the Colombian government the cost of operating the monitoring and verification mechanism.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, said the council's adoption of the resolution is conducive to stepping up the mission's deployment and hence further promoting the peace process in Colombia.

He said China hopes the UN will work to strengthen coordination with the Colombian government on the basis of respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and to help relevant parties in fully implementing the ceasefire agreement.

The conflict between the Colombian government and the leftist rebel group started in the 1960s as an uprising for land rights. It has left about 260,000 people dead, 45,000 missing and nearly 7 million displaced.

The two sides will sign the peace deal on Sept. 26 in Colombia's northern coastal city of Cartagena. And the Colombian people will vote to determine whether they will accept or reject the agreement on Oct. 2. Endit