Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the context of the UK's position as the penholder for Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement at the UN Security Council, what steps his Department is taking to support recently opened peace talks between the Colombian Government and the EMC armed group.

Through our role as penholder at the UN Security Council (UNSC), the UK works closely with international partners to support the peace process in Colombia. During the most recent UNSC meeting on 11 October, Council members reiterated their willingness to help monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire between the Government and the armed group that identifies itself as the Estado Mayor Central, when the Secretary General confirms that appropriate ceasefire protocols are in place. In August, the UK helped coordinate a similar agreement for the UN Verification Mission in Colombia to monitor and verify the ceasefire with the armed group Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN). As the second largest UN Trust Fund donor, the UK will continue to be a leading advocate of Colombia's peace process.