Press Release
Experts Visit Colombia as Part of Global Assessment on the Impact of War on Women and Women's Roles in Peace-Building
For immediate release
Date: 26 November 2001
Media Inquiries:
Oisika Chakrabarti, Media Specialist, UNIFEM Headquarters, +1 212 906-6506,
United Nations, New York — Independent experts Elisabeth Rehn, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, member of the Organization of African Unity Panel of Eminent Persons to investigate the genocide in Rwanda, today begin a week long visit to Colombia to assess the impact of conflict on women and women's role in the peace-building process. Findings will be published in a global report, sponsored by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), scheduled for release in early 2002.
In Colombia, statistics show that over 2 million people have been displaced due to ongoing violence since 1985. According to a 2001 report by the Women and Armed Conflict Work Table, every 14 days a Colombian woman is a victim of forced disappearance.
"Women's protection during armed conflict is glaringly neglected and their contributions to peace-building are often marginalized," said Ms. Rehn. "Our report will aim to mobilize international support for the highest possible standards for women's protection and for their increased participation in peace-building."
The visit to Colombia is the fifth field visit by experts to countries affected by conflict in Africa, the CEE/CIS region, Asia, and Latin America. In Colombia, experts will travel to Bogota and Medellin to meet with women in communities to hear their concerns, needs and demands for inclusion in peace talks. They will also meet with government officials and representatives of human rights, development and women's organizations.
"No full-scale study on the impact of armed conflict on women and their role in peace-building has ever been conducted," said Noeleen Heyzer, UNIFEM Executive Director. "While the credibility of peace processes that exclude participants on the basis of ethnicity, religion and political affiliation are often called into question, the systematic exclusion of more than 50 percent of the population on the basis of gender is rarely challenged."
UNIFEM commissioned the global assessment as follow-up to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The October 2000 Resolution called for documentation on women's experiences during and after war. It also called for the prosecution of crimes against women and increased participation of women in peace negotiations and in decision-making processes at the national, regional and international level.
"We can no longer tolerate the continued rape, exploitation, torture and mutilation of women and girls in conflict situations," stated Ms. Johnson Sirleaf. "We must work to ensure that those who commit human rights violations against women are brought to justice."
Last month, Ms. Rehn briefed UN Security Council Members on preliminary findings from their field visits to East Timor, Cambodia, Somalia, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Balkans and the Middle East as part of the assessment. She testified to the alarming incidence of sexual violence, prostitution and rape suffered by women and girls. She told Council Members that rape is used as a weapon of war in many countries. She attested to the fact that as a result of conflicts, there has been an alarming increase in the number of orphans, widows and female-headed households. In many cases, women struggle to hold families together without access to income or basic resources. Ms. Rehn also told Council Members that many women and girls had been severely traumatized and abused during their flight from their destroyed homes and communities.
Today, a total of 40 million people are displaced by conflict or human rights violations. It is estimated that more than 75 percent of displaced people are women and their dependant children. For ten years, UNIFEM has worked in cooperation with other UN agencies and non-governmental partners to provide assistance to women in conflict situations and support their participation in peace processes.
In March 2001, UNIFEM awarded the Millennium Peace Prize for Women to the Colombian women's organization Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres. The prize was the first global award to specifically recognize women's leadership in finding innovative alternatives to war, holding communities together, and bridging ethnic divides.
About the Experts:
Elisabeth Rehn is the former UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1998-1999) and former Minister for Defense and Equality Affairs, Finland.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a former candidate for the Liberian Presidency and former Assistant Administrator and Director of United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Africa and a member of the Organization for African Unity Panel of Eminent Persons to investigate the genocide in Rwanda.
Victoria Brittain (Rapporteur) is Associate Foreign Editor of the Guardian, and author and editor of numerous books including "Death of Dignity" published in 1998, which deals with Angola's Civil War.
