The Council, by a new resolution, decided that the United Nations Verification Mission, on a temporary basis until January 9, 2018, “will verify the respect of the temporary, bilateral and national ceasefire with the ELN at the levels national, regional and local “.
“[It shall also] strive to prevent incidents through better coordination between the parties and the resolution of disagreements, â€notes the resolution.
The Council also instructed the Verification Mission to enable the parties to react quickly to incidents, as well as to verify and report publicly and to the parties on compliance with the ceasefire.
The Council also approved the addition of up to 70 international observers, as requested by the Secretary General to liaise with the Colombian Armed Forces and the ELN in order to avoid conflicting movements and prevent armed clashes.
The resolution follows an agreement reached in early September in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, between the Colombian government and the ELN on a bilateral and temporary ceasefire. The
the ceasefire came into effect on October 1 and is expected to remain so until the second week of January 2018.
Also today, the Council adopted a presidential statement in which it recognized the work of the (now closed) United Nations Mission in Colombia and praised the “remarkable achievements” in the country following the Final Accord. of 2016 between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. – People’s Army (FARC-EP).
