Preparing for Peace: The Critical Role of Women in Colombia
May 2004

From May 9 to 14, 2004, Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace will host 15 Colombian women peace builders for meetings, presentations, and events in Washington, DC. The purpose of the conference is to elevate the voices of women in Colombia and to urge the US government, international governmental organizations, think tanks, and non-government organizations to promote the inclusion of women in all peace-building efforts in the country.

Women have been both victims and actors in Colombia’s war and peace movement throughout its history. While they represent more than 50 percent of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) and head more than 30 percent of IDP households,¹ they are also involved as combatants and supporters of the armed groups. Women’s engagement in peacemaking increased in the early 1990s and has evolved into a complex network of national and local organizations. By 2002, 17 percent of assassinated and disappeared leaders and activists throughout Colombia were women.²

At this point, the country remains entrenched in violence. The 2002 collapse of the Pastrana-FARC dialogues has led to disillusionment within Colombia’s peace movement, but women’s groups are leading new efforts, raising awareness of the human costs of conflict, and calling for negotiations that include civil society. They are strengthening the peace constituency nationwide and creating common agendas that unite Colombians across racial, geographical, and class boundaries and highlight the root causes of conflict.

This series of events in May is an opportunity to bring these Colombian leaders and other experts together to develop concrete recommendations for policymakers to include women in their attempts to bring stability and security to the country. In response to the need for documentation of the situation, Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace will be distributing its new report, In the Midst of War: Women’s Contributions to Peace in Colombia, which assesses the importance of a gender perspective in peace negotiations and documents the critical work of women at local, regional, and national levels to mitigate the effects of continued violence on their communities, mobilize for renewed dialogues, and prepare for the next cycle of peace in Colombia.

¹ United States Office on Colombia. The Impact of War on Women: Colombian Women’s Struggle. Washington, DC: USOC, 2004. 27 February 2024 <http://usofficeoncolombia.org/insidecolombia/women.htm>.
² Ibid.

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