Brasilia  - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the Nobel Peace Prize is in good hands with his US counterpart, Barack Obama.

Obama deserved the award because of his push for nuclear disarmament, Lula said Friday.

"I hope that we really will have peace in the world and no more atomic bombs," Lula said.

In Colombia, Senator Piedad Cordoba, who had also been nominated for the 2009 prize, called for Obama to help solve the decades-old conflict in Colombia.

Cordoba, a member of the opposition Liberal Party, has led efforts for years to persuade conservative President Alvaro Uribe to negotiate for the release of hundreds of hostages held by the leftist guerilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

She has received death threats from right-wing militia, which once kidnapped her, and she faces the constant possibility that she could be arrested for having illegal contact with the rebels.

Uribe has tried to exclude her from his own efforts to free the hostages, but FARC has insisted on her participation.

"It was an honour to be nominated for the prize," she said.

The nomination had given more importance to women in the global struggle for peace, she said. (dpa)