UN Women supports the Second National Summit of Women and Peace in Bogota highlighting Colombian women’s participation in peacebuilding
The Second National Summit of Women and Peace in Bogota, supported by UN Women, brings together 500 Colombian women, emphasizes the importance of women’s participation in the final endorsement, verification and implementation of the historic peace agreement.Date:
The Second National Summit of Women and Peace in Bogota, Colombia, from 19 – 21 September, is convening over 500 women to highlight the importance of women’s participation in the endorsement, verification and implementation mechanisms of the “General Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace”—the peace agreement signed between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
At the three-day summit, participants will analyse the peace agreement from a gender perspective and discuss how to mitigate the challenges specific to women—such as their low representation in decision-making processes, conditions for their equal participation in land restitution, justice and reparations, as well as the disarmament and reintegration processes, and ensuring justice for survivors of sexual and other forms of gender-based violence. The participants will also present proposals for the effective participation of women in peacebuilding in post-agreement Colombia.
International experts, such as Monica McWilliams (Ireland), Morena Herrera (El Salvador) and Myriam Ferrer (Philippines) will also participate in the Summit and share their peacebuilding experiences. On 21 September, the International Day of Peace, the summit will conclude with the announcement of the “Manifesto of women for a country in peace”.
The Second National Summit of Women and Peace is taking place at a critical juncture, as Colombia prepares for a plebiscite on 2 October to endorse the final peace agreement. The Summit has been organized by nine leading women’s organizations and networks: Asociación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas, Negras e Indígenas de Colombia (ANMUCIC), Alianza Iniciativa de Mujeres Colombianas por la Paz (IMP), Casa de la Mujer, Coalición 1325 Colombia, Colectivo de Pensamiento y Acción Mujeres, Paz y Seguridad, Conferencia Nacional de Organizaciones Afrocolombianas (CNOA), Mujeres por la Paz, Red Nacional de Mujeres and Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres. It is supported by United Nations System in Colombia, with the leadership of UN Women and partners such as the embassies of Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), the European Union and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.
The Summit builds upon the recommendations and partnerships developed at the First National Summit for Women and Peace held in October 2013, which had contributed towards the creation of the sub-Commission in Havana, a unique mechanism that has integrated women’s perspectives in all relevant areas of the final agreement. UN Women has supported the work of Colombian women’s organizations throughout the peace process, from the organization of First National Summit of Women and Peace, to facilitating women’s 60 per cent participation in the Havana peace talks and supporting the work of the sub-Commission.
