COLOMBIAN WOMEN CALL FOR ACTIVE
PEACE ROLES
Washington, DC (May 6, 2024)—Colombian women
leaders will meet in Washington, DC, next week to call for a
negotiated end to their country’s violence and urge the
US to include women in peace efforts. Women have been both victims
and actors in Colombia’s internal strife. As women have
increased their peace activism, they’ve become targets
of guerrillas, organized crime, paramilitary groups, and government
forces. By 2002, a startling 17 percent of assassinated and disappeared
leaders in Colombia were women. Yet they continue to work on
the forefront of civil actions that could lead to negotiations
and lasting peace.
Convened by Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace, the group of politicians, activists,
and scholars will hammer out concrete steps for policymakers
to actively involve women in creating long-term stability and
security in Colombia. Participants include Colombia’s former
minister of foreign relations, Maria Emma Mejia; Senator Piedad
Cordoba Ruiz; and prominent civil society leaders, including
Ana Teresa Bernal, director of the National Network of Citizen’s
Initiatives for Peace and Against War. The women will also meet
with high-level officials at the US Departments of State and
Defense, the World Bank, and the Organization of American States,
as well as with members of Congress and other policy institutions.
“Preparing for Peace: The Critical Role of
Women in Colombia”
| When: |
Wednesday, May 12 |
| Time: |
2:30 PM to 4:30 PM |
| Where: |
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Suite 400
1800 K St., NW, Washington, DC |
| Who: |
Catalina Rojas, Colombian political scientist and author, “In
the midst of War: Women’s Contributions to Peace in
Colombia”; Ambassador Hattie Babbitt, Senior Vice President,
Hunt Alternatives Fund; Colombian women delegates |
| When: |
Thursday, May 13 |
| Time: |
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM |
| Where: |
Senate Dirksen Building, Room 124 |
| Who: |
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA); Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Chair,
Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace; Colombian women delegates |
Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace is
a network of women peace builders from conflict areas around
the world. An initiative of Hunt
Alternatives Fund, “Waging” was launched in 1999
to connect these women with each other and with policy shapers. “In
the Midst of War: Women’s Contributions to Peace in Colombia,” by
Catalina Rojas, documents the critical work of women to stop
the violence, mobilize for renewed dialogues, and prepare for
peace. For details, visit www.WomenWagingPeace.net.
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