BOGOTA – A former Spanish prime minister and a past president of Uruguay will head the international team monitoring the implementation of the peace accord between the Colombian government and FARC rebels, the parties to pact said Thursday.

The formal designation of Spain’s Felipe Gonzalez and Uruguay’s Jose Mujica as co-chairs of the International Component of the CSIVI compliance commission is set for March 30, the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said in a joint statement.

Among the duties of the CSIVI are verifying that the roughly 7,000 remaining FARC fighters report to 26 designated zones where they will surrender their weapons and demobilize.

This part of the peace process, which is scheduled to conclude by May 29, has been plagued by delays in preparing the zones to accommodate the guerrillas.

Gonzalez and Mujica have been enthusiastic supporters of Colombia’s efforts to end the 53-year-old conflict. In terms of importance, the Spaniard has likened the Colombian peace initiative to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.