Colombia Consultation May 2007
Purpose
From May 14-19, 2007, The Initiative for Inclusive Security visited Bogotá for a series of meetings and events with government officials, international community representatives, and civil society activists focused on increasing the inclusion of gender perspectives throughout Colombia’s various peace processes. The highlight of the consultation was a two-day workshop with prosecutors from the Justice and Peace Unit of the Attorney General’s Office, which implements the judicial aspects of the transitional justice process. The workshop was organized at the request of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (NCRR), a commission representing both government and civil society.
Advocacy Meetings
Inclusive Security’s delegation, led by deputy director Miki Jacevic, held a series of advocacy meetings to discuss the integration of gender perspectives throughout Colombia’s reintegration, negotiation, and transitional justice processes. Many of the meetings focused on the implementation of ideas discussed at previous high-level advocacy meetings, and featured:
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Senator Gloria Inés Ramírez;
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Eugenia Ordóñez, Chief of Staff to Senator Martha Lucía Ramírez;
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Lucía Arbeléz de Tobón, Magistrate of the Supreme Judicial Council;
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Catalina Diaz, International Center for Transitional Justice;
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Linda Eriksson, gender focal point of the International Organization for Migration;
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Fabio Gordillo, database consultant for the High Presidential Counselor for Reintegration;
The delegation also met separately with members of the Women Waging Peace Network to learn more about various peace efforts in their country.
Follow-up efforts on the various advocacy meetings include:
Organize a visit of Commissioners and Network members Patricia Buriticá and Ana Teresa Bernal to Washington, D.C. and New York for a series of advocacy meetings.
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Support the Women’s Caucus in preparing a resolution seeking to enhance women’s participation in the Colombian peace process in the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
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Connect members of the Women’s Caucus and civil society leaders with members of the U.S. congressional delegation visiting Bogotá in early June.
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Provide input into the design of a database for the reintegration of demobilized combatants, with emphasis on the impact of reintegration on local communities and the development of gender-specific indicators.
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At the request of the NCRR, prepare a workshop on gender and transitional justice for magistrates of the Justice and Peace Unit and Supreme Court justices.
Workshop with prosecutors from the Justice and Peace Unit
The workshop combined our well-tested materials on transitional justice, developed from experiences from all over the world, with materials specifically created to address the needs of the Justice and Peace prosecutors. This combination enabled participants to gain a general understanding of the importance of including gender perspectives in transitional justice and to design concrete strategies to ensure that women have access to justice and reparations, and a prominent voice in the Colombian peace process.
Participants had the opportunity to work in small groups of prosecutors, women civil society leaders, and members and staff of the NCRR, ensuring that the strategies designed are fully owned and supported by all key stakeholders. This participatory approach to training is a hallmark of Inclusive Security’s workshops and allows us to draw from the collective expertise of our participants and ensure their active engagement. In addition, by bringing together participants with different backgrounds and roles in the peace process, the workshop opened new channels of communication among government institutions, the justice system, and civil society. 
Past In-Country Efforts
The May 2007 consultation was the fourth organized by Inclusive Security in Bogotá. The first consultation, held in August 2005, focused on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, under the title “Inclusive Security, Sustainable Peace: Tools for Advocacy and Action.” In December of that year, Inclusive Security returned for a second consultation. This visit consisted of various high-level advocacy meetings along with an organized visit to local women’s organizations outside of Bogotá with First Lady Lina de Uribe. Most recently, in November 2006, Inclusive Security conducted a workshop for members and staff of the National Commission for Reparations and Reconciliation, and conducted a series of high-level meetings.
Next Steps
Inclusive Security’s Colombia strategy builds on previous accomplishments to launch a gender mainstreaming drive through different actors across the Colombian political and social spectrum. A defining feature of this strategy has been the effort to reach broadly across institutions and deeply within them. A combination of high-level meetings with policy makers and contacts with implementers allows us to ensure the ideas we contribute are effectively translated into policies.
Inclusive Security’s Colombia strategic plan for 2007 is based on three pillars:
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Increasing the number of women in elected positions and enhancing the efforts of the Women’s Caucus;
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Mainstreaming gender issues in the work of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation; and
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Gender-sensitive implementation of the Justice and Peace Law.
Recommendations
Click here for recommendations from the May 2007 consultation in Spanish.
Click here for recommendations from the 2007 Colloquium in either English or Spanish.
Click here for recommendations from the November 2006 workshop in either English or Spanish.
Publications
Read our previous reports on Colombia:
Directory of Women Peace Experts
Use our directory to find women peace experts from Colombia.
Press Releases & Media Coverage
Colombian Leaders Agree: Empowering Women Strengthens Their Democracy
November 6, 2006
Speech to the United Nations Security Council by Colombia Representative Claudia Blum, on Women, Peace, and Security
Resources
Click here for Colombia-specific resources.