LEADING WOMEN PEACE BUILDERS FROM THE AMERICAS OFFER ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO VIOLENT CONFLICT

ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA SEPTEMBER 3 - 4, 2002

For centuries, women have been bridging religious, ethnic, and cultural divides. Today, as stories of war and terror dominate headlines and political agendas, their critical expertise is needed at the policy table more than ever. Leading women peace builders from South and North America will meet with high-level policymakers in Antigua to exchange innovative strategies for ending violent conflict. Members of the Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace network from Guatemala, Colombia, and the United States will insist on the implementation of a major policy statement from the United Nations Security Council that calls for the full inclusion of women in the peace process at the local, regional, and international levels.

Conference participants will include:

Luz Méndez is General Coordinator of the National Union of Guatemalan Women, an association that promotes women's leadership, equitable political participation, and the dissemination of the peace accords. Between 1991 and 1996, Ms. Méndez participated in the Guatemalan peace negotiations as the only female member of the delegation from the political party Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca. She contributed to the incorporation of women-specific commitments for gender equity into the Guatemalan Peace Accords. She also participated in the Burundi peace process as part of the UN team of gender experts whose mission was to advise on the incorporation of women's rights into the process.

Martha Segura is Executive Director of the Colombian Confederation of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), a network of 25 NGOs throughout the country. Created in 1989 as a UN project, the Confederation coordinates the peace building efforts of the government, private sector, international agencies, and NGOs. Ms. Segura has represented the NGO community in peace talks-most recently in multi-party negotiations in Costa Rica. She also fosters capacity building and strategic alliances, providing Internet and technical skills training to organizations throughout Colombia.

Judith Bachay has worked as a National Consultant for the Peace Education Foundation since the group's inception in 1980. The Foundation's mission is to educate children and adults in the dynamics of conflict and to promote peacemaking skills in homes, schools, and communities throughout the world. She works with age-specific groups from kindergarten through high school to teach competency and conflict resolution in developmentally appropriate ways.

To schedule individual interviews, please contact Ivonne de Rivera in Guatemala at 502.211.6441. Please note that the working language of all events is Spanish.

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