On 4 October, in Caracas, Venezuela, the Colombian Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced the re-establishment of negotiations after more than four years of suspension. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, The Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, welcomed the decision of the ELN and Colombia and urged them to take advantage of this opportunity to end a deadly conflict. The Secretary-General reiterated the UN’s readiness to support the negotiations, as required, through his Special Representative in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, who accompanied the delegation in Caracas and saluted the decision as a key announcement in the intensification of the peace in Colombia.

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Read the Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General - on Colombia