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his makes it even more important that the parties … continue to respect the ceasefire

More than 220,000 people have died on the battlefield or in massacres during the conflict between leftist guerrillas, government troops and right-wing paramilitaries.

Santos has used his two terms in office to open negotiations with rebel leaders in four years of talks.

The peace accord was indeed a major achievement and, although the referendum was a setback,

hopefully this award will help peace builders maintain the momentum needed to keep the process moving forward,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Director Dan Smith said in a statement.

But in what one UK pollster called “one of the biggest polling fails of all time,” the peace deal was narrowly rejected, with 50.2 percent voting against it. That means the peace agreement can’t be implemented — and is effectively dead.

he FARC is the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). It’s a Marxist rebel group that since 1964 has waged a bloody rebellion against the Colombian government — and it’s the longest-running armed insurgency in the Western Hemisphere.

Starting in 2000, the United States began providing the Colombian government with billions of dollars in mostly military aid to help interrupt the country’s massive drug trade and fight the FARC and other smaller rebel groups. The hope was that social and economic conditions in Colombia’s “historically marginalized” rural areas in which the armed groups thrive would also be improved.

Under the agreement, called Plan Colombia, the US pledged nearly $10 billion in assistance. As reported by the Washington Post’s Dana Priest, this was paired with “a CIA covert action program that has helped Colombian forces kill at least two dozen rebel leaders.”

The deal would also have allowed rebels to avoid jail time if they confessed to their crimes. Per the BBC, the agreement would have created “a special legal framework” intended “to try those who committed crimes during the armed conflict, including Farc fighters, government soldiers and members of right-wing paramilitary groups.”

The peace agreement as written cannot be implemented without an approval by referendum, so it will have to be renegotiated. President Santos has promised to “continue the search for peace until the last moment of my mandate, because that's the way to leave a better country to our children ... I won't give up,” he said.

Venezuela saw an increased risk of “violent demonstrations, violent crime and political instability as the economic crisis has deepened and anti-government sentiment has risen

Political instability and an increased likelihood of violent demonstrations accounted for Brazil’s low score as well

Correspondents say President Santos has risked his political future on the success of the peace deal.

But after 50 years of war, many Colombians still aren't ready to forgive. As President Santos put it, the hard work of building peace now lies ahead.

President Santos said this historic moment was a message from Colombia to the world: no more war. "No more war," the crowd chanted in return.

However, only hours before the signing, the EU announced it would suspend the Farc from its list.

1964: Set up as armed wing of Communist Party2002: At its height, it had an army of 20,000 fighters controlling up to a third of the country. Senator Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped and held for six years along with 14 other hostages2008: The Farc suffers a series of defeats in its worst year2012: Start of peace talks in Havana2016: Definitive ceasefire

the time murder rates began to decrease dramatically in cities such as in Tamaulipas and Ciudad Juarez, once hotspots for drug-related violence

President Santos, a former defence minister, made it clear that his long fight against the Farc - as well as the secret channel he established two decades ago - gave him the gravitas to sit down with his enemy.

A 52-year war means a generation of pain and distrust.

The Farc, rooted in a Marxist-Leninist peasant revolt, must now move away from its vast network of criminal activities, including the lucrative cocaine trade, in exchange for entering the political process and becoming part of Colombian society.

Spearheading the "no" vote in Colombia was former president and current senator Alvaro Uribe, whose father was killed by FARC rebels.

It has thrived as a stable democracy amid neighbors governed by leftist leaders.

Capitalizing on the demobilization and reintegration experience gained in the CIAV-OAS peace mission in Nicaragua (1990-1997), the OAS led an extremely successful reinsertion project

This conflict prevention and management program helped Guatemalans address ongoing social and political tensions by providing them with training on negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution skills.

Secretary General was asked to take urgent action to defuse a conflict in Nicaragua that threatened to upset the institutional order.

Experience in Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti and Nicaragua showed that the OAS played a decisive role in resolving the political and institutional crises in those countries, and took an active part in overcoming various situations that threatened democratic stability.

President Bush could go a long way toward restoring peace in Nicaragua, and U.S.-Nicaraguan relations, if he proposed to use his influence and support--together with other heads of state, the World Bank and various other international agencies--to help launch a resettlement program, in Nicaragua

Nicaraguans who have sought asylum abroad would be enticed to return home. However, such a project to restore our dignity as Nicaraguans can be possible only if the Sandinista regime takes a sincere decision to adopt democracy.

recognizes the efforts made by both the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections in the preparation of this election, enabling them to overcome several of the problems experienced in 2009.

collaborating to ensure a peaceful voting process.

The special war tribunals the government intends to establish to start adjudicating crimes will be dismissed as kangaroo courts by those who would have favored a military defeat of the FARC. I would argue, though, that this path will give Colombians an opportunity to start building a fairer society, one in which merit and talent matter more than last name and pedigree.

Mr. Zuluaga has charged that Mr. Santos is liable to concede too much to achieve peace, including allowing guerrilla leaders to skip serious punishment. He has said, however, that he would consider continuing the talks if the FARC stopped all criminal activity.Mr. Zuluaga’s closeness to Mr. Uribe has been a central element of his campaign. Mr. Uribe, a polarizing figure with a strong political base, backed Mr. Santos when he ran for president in 2010. But they later became fierce enemies, splitting over the peace talks, which Mr. Uribe opposed.

my experiences in Nicaragua changed my perspective. I hope to continue my travels in the developing world, and I want some of those travels to be with Witness for Peace

On the other hand, it is known that the United States has openly announced it will try to help resolve the problems in Latin America

“We are working with the World Bank to help economies in Latin America and also we are working to uphold the concepts of democracy in this hemisphere,

“There are too many poor people in Latino America, but mainly this is because most of them can’t speak up to their governments.

Mr Santos had supported Mr Uribe early on, founding a party to back Mr Uribe's campaign for president when the latter was still a relatively unknown candidate.

However, Mr Santos' approval ratings remained high and he resigned as defence minister in 2009 to be able to run for president in 2010.