Colombian women play central role in peace process

Debora Barros Fince is a Waayu indigenous lawyer and human rights defender from Bahia Portete,  Colombia. Her community was massacred by Colombian paramilitaries in 2004, leading the Wayuu to abandon their ancestral homeland. Debora survived the massacre and went on to create an organization called Mujeres Tejiendo la Paz (Women Weaving Peace), which works with victims of sexual and domestic violence, and aims to include Colombian women in national reconciliation. In 2014, Debora was invited to Havana, Cuba as part of a victim’s delegation to the Colombian peace negotiations, a testament to her struggle as a human rights defender and advocate. In the recent Colombian peace negotiations, women participated as gender advisors and experts, negotiators, and in delegations of women affected by conflict, making up one-third of peace table participants and over 60 per cent of victims and experts. Studies show that when women are included in peace processes there is a 35% increase in the probability of an agreement lasting at least 15 years.Learn more: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/7/women-at-the-frontlines-b…