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UN chief congratulates Colombian president for winning Nobel Peace Prize

Xinhua, October 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday congratulated Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and commended Commander Timoleon Jimenez on his flexibility and his reiterated commitment to peace.

In phone calls to the leaders of the Colombian peace process, "the secretary-general encouraged the two leaders to maintain the course of the peace process in spite of the recent outcome of the referendum," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

"Most importantly, the secretary-general noted that the Nobel Prize sends a timely message to the victims of the conflict who were put at the centre of the Havana peace talks," the spokesman said.

The secretary-general welcomed the parties' continued commitment to maintain the ceasefire, the commitment to the adoption of a protocol to prevent any incidents, and the role given to the tripartite Monitoring Mechanism (MVM) in ensuring its implementation, Dujarric said.

"The secretary-general recognized that these measures will certainly help create a favourable environment for the political discussions that we hope will lead to a successful conclusion of the peace process," the spokesman said.

The Colombian president won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring his country's five-decade-long civil war to an end.

The president and FARC commander in chief, Timoleon Jimenez, signed a historic peace deal on Sept. 26, 2016 in the Colombian city of Cartagena. Endit