Towards Transformative Change: Women and the Implementation of the Colombian Peace Accord
Publisher: ReliefWeb
Author(s): ABColombia
Date: 2019
Topics: Basic Services, Dispute Resolution/Mediation, Gender, Governance, Humanitarian Assistance, Land, Peace Agreements, Protection and Access to Justice
Countries: Colombia
Women and women’s civil society organizations (CSOs) were told for two years, when they tried to raise the situation of women and women’s rights in peace processes: now is not the time. Now is not the time to be talking about women, now is not the time to be talking about women’s rights; when there is an end to the armed conflict, then we can talk about women and women’s rights. Any peace process will encounter difficulties during the talks but ignoring the rights of women is not the answer to sustainable peace. Various studies demonstrate that women’s direct participation in peace negotiations contributes to the quality and durability of peace.1 If Colombian women had been silenced and pushed into the background by this pressure, there would be no gender perspective in the Final Colombian Peace Accord (FPA). The FPA demonstrates that now is always the time to talk about women’s rights – or human rights – as women’s rights are human rights. Inclusiveness is central to sustainable peace and to peace building. It is crucial that the FPA is implemented and that it brings transformative change and justice for women. It is crucial that women are equally involved in all of the decision- making spaces regarding implementation of the FPA.