Martha Segura
Expert Spotlight
Civil Society: Rebuilding Trust
After 40 years of war, civil society in
Colombia is disoriented and fragmented.
Years of violence have destroyed trust among individuals and among entire social groups, leading to more violence and distrust.
In such an environment, it's hard to know which civil organizations or which armed groups will lead legitimate reform.
In spite of the continuing violence,
Martha Segura believes
Colombia has reached a transition point.
“Civil society is starting to understand how it can help transform the conflict,” she says.
“Specifically, it's taking on the role of mediating between leading social actors like the state, the Church, and the guerrillas.”
Women have a particularly large role in this transformation, because they account for 90 percent of NGO leaders in the country.
Although women in
Colombia historically played important roles in the community, their work for peace has been “behind-the-scenes” at the grassroots level.
But because of the war, many women have become more independent and more educated.
When they lost their husbands and sons, women started taking on leadership roles.
They're now in guerrilla groups, in the army, in politics, banking, and business.
“A major obstacle to the peace process has been the breakdown of confidence in leadership,” explains
Segura.
“People have to trust that somebody will represent their interests.
As an umbrella organization, we're building this trust two ways.
One is making sure NGOs we work with are reliable.”
Another way to build confidence in civil society has been the drafting of a formal agreement with four principles designed to guide NGOs in their work.
Through this agreement,
Segura's organization is showing Colombian society that “we stand for something and that we're working together, regardless of our different histories or cultures.
There are NGOs of all kinds under the Confederation's umbrella, but these main beliefs are the bridge:
- We believe in our constitution and in a social state ruled by law.
- We believe in the protection of human rights.
- We believe in working through coalitions, partnerships, and alliances—with the government, with the Church, and with like-minded organizations.
- We believe in providing public goods—services that belong to the people.”
One of the most encouraging developments has been the coming together of NGOs and the military on behalf of this vision for a common future. The Confederation has organized meetings between NGOs and military authorities in the most violent cities. Segura states that the idea for such meetings “was planted in 2000, when I attended a Women Waging Peace meeting in New York. A military general was present, and someone asked how I felt as a representative of an NGO coalition, sitting beside a general. I answered that we never trust the military and they never trust us, but maybe it's time to sit together and start talking.”
Now they are talking to each other. The police commissioner, army commander, security and intelligence officials, and NGOs were invited to the first talk. “Everyone was nervous when the military men came into the room with a tape recorder and guns, but we opened the meeting gently, telling them about our mission, our work, and our organization's four principles for peace,” says Segura. “We also said we feared them but that we needed to know them. They told us that they didn't feel secure with NGOs, who always seem to be making accusations against them. After just two hours, the military put aside their guns, and the two groups were laughing and discussing community problems.”
According to Segura, “Democratic security—the reducing of social, economic, and political instability—is a precursor to lasting peace, but it can't be achieved until the notion of human rights becomes a core value throughout the country, from the grassroots to the government. We need to do much more.” To that end, Segura hosts trainings and conferences on topics that prepare NGO leaders for active participation in politics. In workshops, her goal is to build trust, cultural identity, a shared vision of the future, and then to create a plan for action.
After 40 years of war, Colombia won't change overnight. But Segura is hopeful: “Peace means having security, living in an inclusive society, and knowing that human rights are being respected at every level. But in the process of making people aware of how they can contribute to peace, we will all learn about our strengths, our weaknesses, and our opportunities in this historical moment. We have a lot of work to do…and civil society is doing it.”
