Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro and ELN commander “Antonio Garcia” announced a six-month ceasefire between the guerrillas and the security forces.
The ceasefire was negotiated by government and rebel representatives who are in Cuba to negotiate and end to almost 60 years of armed conflict.
At a press conference, the negotiators announced that the ceasefire will take force on August 3.
Petro and civil society organizations have repeatedly stressed the importance of a ceasefire, particularly for people living in guerrilla-controlled territories.
The warring parties, the United Nations and civil society will monitor compliance with the deal between the warring parties.
The citizen monitoring of the ceasefire seeks to increase the involvement of citizens in the peace negotiations as a whole.
In order to achieve this, the negotiators formally called on citizens to take part in the peace process.
Last but not least, the government and the ELN also agreed to immediate humanitarian measures to benefit people living in regions that are effectively controlled by the guerrillas.
The ceasefire is only the second in the decades-long armed conflict between the ELN and the State.
A ceasefire that was agreed by the administration of former President Juan Manuel Santos and the ELN in 2017 fell apart ahead of its extension in January 2018.
According to Senator Maria Jose Pizarro, one of the government negotiators, the ceasefire is a major step towards peace with the ELN and Petro’s attempts to negotiate “total peace” with other illegal armed groups.
Government representatives have been trying to set up negotiations with multiple guerrilla groups and mafia organizations in order to prevent the escalation of political violence and armed conflict.