The UN warned Friday that Colombia was moving too slowly in implementing its peace accord with leftist FARC rebels, which resulted in a "power vacuum" that could be exploited by gangs.

Aimed at ending five decades of conflict, the November 24 pact has huge potential for improving human rights in Colombia, the UN rights office said.

But, its spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani warned, "practical aspects of the demobilisation and disarming of FARC members set out in the accord are not being prioritised."

The deal calls for FARC guerrillas to gather in 27 zones where they will disarm and demobilise.

"But two weeks into the demobilisation process, none of these zones are equipped to adequately receive them," she told reporters in Geneva.

She pointed to limited access to safe drinking water, food, health services and electricity in the zones.

"International experience shows that the initial days of demobilisation are the most critical in ensuring combatants do not abandon the peace process," she said.

FARC members have been gathering in so-called pre-concentration points prior to disarming and demobilising, but these points are plagued by a "similar lack of preparation and facilities," as well as a lack of concrete security measures, Shamdasani said.

"As FARC guerrillas leave areas that are traditionally under their control, the state has not yet fully stepped in, leaving a power vacuum," she said.

"Armed and criminal groups are vying for the control of illegal economic activities in these areas."

She noted that her office had documented 61 killings in Colombia, mainly of human rights activists and social leaders in rural areas.

More than a third of the killings occurred after the first peace deal was signed in late September.

Considering the large number of challenges facing the implementation of the ambitious peace agreement, the UN urged the Colombian government to appoint a crisis manager with executive authority to take on the practical problems.

"We are also calling for immediate, determined and visible state action on the ground to provide security and basic services, and to begin implementing all aspects of the accord to ensure that it lives up to the promise of peace for Colombia," Shamdasani said.

Colombian president receives 'Catholic Nobel' for FARC deal
Rome (AFP) Dec 17, 2016 - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Saturday received the Lampara peace prize, the "Catholic Nobel", for his efforts to reach a deal with his country's Marxist FARC rebels.

The award, handed over in the Italian city of Assisi, comes a week after Santos received the actual Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo, in recognition of his work to end the half-century conflict that has claimed more than 260,000 lives.

"I wanted to be an instrument of peace for my country, and there have been many instruments of peace among those who have joined me in this work," he said after receiving the lamp of Saint Francis, a symbol of peace for Roman Catholics.

"Today I want to ask Saint Francis to continue to inspire us so that this peace we have agreed can be felt in every Colombian town, village and family."

His visit to Assisi came a day after Pope Francis brought him together with his predecessor as Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe, at the Vatican.

Uribe led opposition to the agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), ratified last month after an earlier version was voted down in a referendum in October.

The former president and his allies argue the deal grants impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes, giving them seats in parliament instead of sending them to prison.

After voters rejected the initial deal by a narrow margin, the government and FARC renegotiated it, deciding to have it ratified in Congress rather than risk a second referendum.