Off the wire
• Chinese premier to meet leaders of Portuguese-speaking countries in Macao  • German gov't increases 2016 growth forecast to 1.8 pct  • Summit of EU parliamentary chairmen to help EU overcome problems: Slovak official  • Chinese spending on shopping, food hit record high during National Day holiday  • Parliamentarians of EP to discuss post-Brexit EU in Bratislava: Schulz  • 2nd LD Writethru: 8 killed, 19 injured as twin blasts hit passenger train in SW Pakistan  • Employees in 23 pct Japanese firms work 80 hours overtime a month: white paper  • U.S. jobs market keeps modest growth in September  • U.S. stocks open higher after jobs report  • Chinese outbound tourist trips grow, diversify during National Day holiday  
You are here: 　 Home

UNHCR chief welcomes Colombian president's winning Nobel Peace Prize

Xinhua, October 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chief of the United Nations (UN) refugee agency Filippo Grandi on Friday congratulated Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on winning the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.

"I was in Colombia not so long ago and what I saw on the ground was extraordinary commitment by the government, the FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the civil society in particular to make this work," said Grandi, high commissioner for refugees for the Office of the the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"I am sure that having seen that commitment, the present complicated political impasse will be overcome," he added.

Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in a peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC, the country's largest rebel group.

The peace agreement, seen as the first step to end decades-old conflict in the country, however, was narrowly rejected in a referendum on Sunday.

Colombia is one of the countries that host the largest internally displaced populations in the world. Some 6 to 7 million Colombians have had to flee their homes since the conflict started in 1964.

The protracted war has also resulted in some 220,000 deaths. Endi