UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon on Friday welcomed the release of six hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and called for more hostages to be released, Xinhua reported.
"He commends the governmental and non-governmental efforts that enabled these developments to take place," Ban's press office said in a statement.
Ban said he felt "relieved" at the hostages' release, and expressed his "solidarity with the many people still being held against their will in Colombia."
Condemning kidnapping as "an inhumane and unjustifiable crime as well as a gross violation of international human rights and humanitarian law," the secretary-general called on the FARC and other groups to release all hostages immediately.
The hostages, among them the former Governor of the Department of Meta, Alan Jara, were released in the past week by the FARC, which announced in December 2008 that it would set the six free.
It is estimated that FARC, the biggest rebel group in Colombia, still holds some 700 hostages.