If the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) manage to finalize a peace deal, the disarmament of the leftist rebels will likely be overseen by a special United Nations mission.

The U.N. Security Council on Jan. 25 was deliberating a draft resolution that would establish such a mission and ask Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "to initiate preparations and to present detailed recommendations to the Security Council for its consideration and approval," Reuters reported.

Both the government in Bogotá and the FARC had agreed last week to ask the Security Council to help monitor and verify rebel disarmament if both sides manage to put a final end to Latin America's longest-running civil war.

'Desire to End This Confrontation'

Government negotiator Humberto de La Calle praised the effort as another critical step toward a peace deal, according to the BBC.

"What was done today is not just the beginning of an international agreement, but unequivocal proof of the desire to end this confrontation," the representative of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos noted. "With this agreement, which is now being considered, we are already taking steps that will take us to the implementation of our talks."

In Havana, Cuba, meanwhile, Iván Márquez, the rebel's chief negotiator, echoed de La Calle's remarks.

"This announcement constitutes a strong signal and a very happy premonition for the peace process in Colombia, which is now headed toward the end of the longest conflict of this continent," Márquez said.

UN Would Establish 12-Month Mission

The resolution that would enable the United Nations to oversee disarmament, meanwhile, was subsequently introduced by the United Kingdom, one of the council's five permanent members, Reuters said.

According to the resolution's draft, the United Nations would "establish a political mission to participate for a period of 12 months ... to monitor and verify the definitive bilateral ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, and the laying down of arms."

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