Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of a bilateral ceasefire in Colombia as a result of a final peace agreement being signed; and if he will make a statement.

President Juan Manuel Santos announced in October 2015, that the Government was prepared to declare a bilateral ceasefire on completion of point 5 of the agenda ‘end of conflict’, which is still being negotiated in Havana. However, he said repeatedly that the FARC must first agree to lay down their weapons and give up their armed struggle before a ceasefire is declared.

On 25 January, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2261, drafted by the United Kingdom. The resolution establishes a Special Political Mission, to monitor and verify the ceasefire between the Government of Colombia and the FARC.