An Interview with Mildrey Corrales Charry & Lilibeth Cortés Mora
On the path to Total Peace in Colombia
By Teringa Lodge
Creating a path to lasting peace has been a long-standing priority for human rights defenders and civil society organisations in Colombia. We spoke with women human rights defenders Mildrey Corrales Charry from the Coordination of Colombia Europe and United States (CCEEU) and Lilibeth Cortés Mora from Sisma Mujer, who have been working to create a stronger model of peace, that includes the voices of those who experience the consequences of the armed conflict, such as women and the LGBTIQ+ community.
Could you start by telling us a little bit about yourselves and the work you do in Colombia?
Mildrey Corrales Charry: Hello, my name is Mildrey Corrales Charry - I’m a human rights defender and I’ve been working in the field for 30-40 years, nearly all of my life! I work at the Coordination of Colombia Europe and United States (CCEEU), a platform of human and social rights organisations. Our work focuses on advocacy activities on the human rights situation in Colombia, with an emphasis on civil and political rights. We carry out actions, international advocacy, national level advocacy and research on these matters, as well as efforts to strengthen human rights defence organisations that are a part of the platform.
Lilibeth Cortés Mora: Hello my name is Lilibeth Cortés Mora I work at Sisma Mujer, a feminist NGO. We work in different aspects of women's human rights, including access to justice and violations of rights in the context of the armed conflict. However, we also work to defend the human rights of women in more daily situations like domestic violence, violence that occurs in the workplace, and in public life. We also work on women’s focused policies and with women human rights defenders.
Left to right: Anna McMorrin MP; Sarah Rennie (ABColombia); Christina Challis (PBI UK); Louise Winstanley (ABColombia); Mildrey Corrales Charry; Lilibeth Cortés Mora.
How does Colombia’s ‘Total Peace’ differ from the 2016 peace deal with FARC?
Mildrey: There are several differences between these peace deals. The main one being that the deal with the FARC was a deal between a politically-oriented armed group and the government. The ‘Total Peace’ policy aims to bring an end to violence across the country. This entails negotiations with political groups, armed groups, and also with other groups we call “high impact groups”, which are connected with drug trafficking, etc. I'd say that's the primary difference between the two policies.
Lilibeth: It’s also important to acknowledge that this is an additional approach from the government, that looks at a solution to the armed and social conflicts in the country. It is an attempt to deal with the historical and structural forms of violence that have affected social groups in Colombia, which have been a part of the structural reproduction of violence in the country.
Through the gendered and feminist focus that we follow, we seek to involve women in the conversation and highlight the importance of constructing more egalitarian and just approaches to including women. Women suffer the consequences of armed conflict in a different way, in a gendered way. Historically, women have been important in the construction of peace and we think their role should be emphasised in this space too. Creating a stronger model of peace should involve the necessary voices, such as those who experience the consequences of the armed conflict - not just revolving around men in armed groups.
It has been eight years since the FARC peace deal was made in Colombia, why do you think there have been so many setbacks in implementing the peace accords?
Lilibeth: Well, this is a complex question. I think that part of the problem has been that Colombian society has not reached sufficient levels of consensus about the importance of peace in the country, and how it affects the daily lives of people. This absence of consensus has led to a situation where politicians who come to power are not necessarily committed to peace, or are even against peace in the country. Without doubt, this has an effect on the current situation in the country and the implementation of the accords. Some of the points of the final agreement with the FARC have not yet been fully implemented. This means territories that were initially prioritised for the implementation of the accords, have not been prioritised. As a consequence of that, we now have a deepening of the levels of violence in these very conflict ridden areas.
If you were to look at the situation now - it would seem as if nothing has really changed, but that’s not entirely the case. The current situation has been constructed over a long period of time, in part due to the absence of commitment by the Colombian state to fulfil the terms of the accord. This absence, or lack of commitment, impacts the people and the groups that signed the Peace Accords, but has a particular impact on the victims whose rights are not being respected and living in the impossibility of securing guarantees of non-repetition of violence.
Mildrey: The government that followed the administration that signed the accords did nothing to fulfil the commitments of the accord. It was a government that didn’t believe in peace, and hence didn't believe in the accord. That led to setbacks in the process and to an increase in the levels of violence. As there was never a real institutional presence in the areas where the FARC had previously operated, there was a vacuum left without the presence of the state, which generated an increased presence of armed groups in those regions. This current policy is trying to ensure a negotiation with the groups that have filled the vacuum and continue to act in those regions.
What are the main challenges faced by human rights defenders in Colombia and how have they evolved in recent years?
Mildrey: The principal challenge for both human rights defenders and defence organisations in general, is to maintain a critical attitude towards measures being taken and examine the actual extent to which policies are contributing to increased levels of violence and human rights violations. Indeed, violence against social leaders and human rights defenders continues and in some areas of the country, they have increased. That is primarily due to the actions carried out by the criminal groups and the groups in the negotiation process at the moment, because these people question, to an extent, the military activity that these groups have carried out.
However, there are forms of violence against human rights defenders which have substantially reduced. For example, stigmatisation by the state and state officials, which previously was very common. There were a lot of defamatory attacks against human rights defenders with previous governments, undermining their role as defenders and labelling them as part of the internal enemy. Now, under the current government, there has been a shift of rhetoric and a recognition of the work that human rights defenders carry out. So, one of the biggest challenges that we face now as a movement is how we can develop mechanisms to continue guaranteeing the work of human rights defenders.
Lilibeth: In terms of women in particular, there are several challenges. First, is to increase the participation of women's voices in democratic debates. They need to have a voice to talk about necessary social changes and not just be reduced to “traditional women's matters”. It's important that we can and should be able to participate in all areas of public and democratic life. That, of course, brings with it increased levels of risk for women human rights defenders, particularly violence, both physical and symbolic violence against women.
This has been evident during the current Congress period, female congress members have endured violations at the hands of their colleagues when advocating for certain rights. These attacks not only target their political stances but also their bodies, the way they present themselves, the way they dress, etc. These are different forms of aggression that women politicians face and limits the possibility of women to participate in democratic spaces. In the regions that are most affected by violence, where women defend the rights of other women, they find themselves in situations of risk not only related to what they're doing as women human rights defenders, but also what the Constitutional Court has recognised as risks that are specifically associated with their gender, such as the risk of sexual violence or the risk that their children will be attacked. In this sense, we should endeavour to strengthen the integral plan of protection for women human rights defenders.
This is a plan that the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for and, if it were to be properly implemented, guaranteed protection for women human rights defenders would have a hugely positive impact. It would allow them to organise themselves and increase awareness within society, not only about the risks that affect female leaders, but also on the understanding that if women leaders are not able to carry out their work, then that has an impact on Colombian society and on the possibility of achieving equality.
How have organisations like Corporación Sisma Mujer and CCEEU contributed to the peacebuilding efforts happening in Colombia?
Mildrey: The CCEEU’s mandate encompasses contributing to a negotiated solution to the conflict, the consolidation of peace, and the strengthening of the rule of law with a social perspective which is a constitutional principle. The organisations that make up the CCEEU operate in different parts of the country and are directly affected by the armed conflict. They have been instrumental in creating processes that have led to humanitarian roundtables, seeking mechanisms for protection and self-protection, to guarantee their ability to continue operating, living and working in their communities.
These organisations have created different platforms of dialogue with the national government and paramilitary groups, ensuring their inclusion in discussions that the government holds with the different armed groups.
We have also been actively involved in shaping public policy proposals, taking part in discussions addressing the challenges arising from the armed conflict and ensuring guarantees that human rights defenders, particularly women, can continue to carry out their work. These organisations have presented policy proposals to ensure the voices of human rights defenders are heard, proposals in relation to the paramilitary groups, proposals related to reforms to the justice system and we are currently involved in negotiations on crafting legislation for the deposition of arms by armed groups.
We've been seeking to participate in all of the areas of debate and public policy platforms, representing all of the organisations in the CCEEU, trying to gather all of the views from different regions and social sectors that come out of the proposal. Specifically, in relation to the negotiation in this current process of Total Peace, we're part of the National Participation Committee.
In the previous process with the FARC, the CCEEU was responsible for the principle proposals that led to the creation of the integrated system of justice, reparation, and non-repetition. So, the creation of the Truth Commission, the unit to search for people who were forcibly disappeared, and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). These emerged from our organisations’ proposals where we, as human rights defence organisations and victims of state crimes, all participated in the proposal that led to the establishment of the judicial system and the transitional justice system that emerged from the accords.
Lilibeth: Since it was created in 1998, Sisma Mujer has been working for peace in Colombia, for a peace that includes women. We focus on the specific needs of women, their political proposals and their social proposals, which has led us to work in various spaces. In particular, I wanted to mention that we have developed a very powerful line of work, in which we are highlighting victims of sexual violence carried out in the context of the armed conflict, categorizing it as a crime that shouldn't receive pardon, but instead be judged and punished through the legal system. We have represented women in different legal areas, including in the ordinary justice system, securing a landmark judgement in the Constitutional Court that has reshaped jurisprudence in the country. We also played a crucial role in the negotiation of the final accord in 2016, which has allowed us to raise the profile of investigations of sexual violence committed against women during the conflict. At the moment, we are involved in a major case with the JEP to investigate and sanction these kinds of crimes.
I'd also like to highlight the connection between the construction of peace and the question of equality for women. This would be an area that would really be able to secure the peace guarantees of the rights of women and their ability to participate in society.
Women’s and human rights organisations have brought together thousands of women from across the country to offer their own ideas and recommendations to the National Action Plan 1325, just how important is this gendered approach to developing policy?
Lilibeth: It’s importance is connected with what I've been talking about, the conception of peace and security for women that doesn't only imply the absence of armed conflict, but also requires fulfilling a range of women's rights; economic rights, social and cultural rights, access to work, access to education, to justice. This also includes access to civic and political spaces so that women can participate freely and informedly in democratic debates.
A plan designed and based on the needs of women affected by the conflict must take into account the potential participation of women in these public spaces, as well as matters that are a priority for women, that often affect their own lives, families and communities. This broadens the perspective of peace.
It's also very important that the national government actually does publish the NAP 1325, as it's not been published yet. We hope that it will include all of the recommendations that we as civil society organisations and women's organisations have made from different regions of the country, in order to start the implementation of the NAP 1325 as soon as possible.
In this conception of security and democracy, it's also very important to include the perspective of the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community, which in Colombia has been invisible and hidden by the institutions for many years. Only relatively recently, in the context of the Accord in 2016, have the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community been explicitly mentioned in the context of peace. This is fundamental because it makes it possible to visualise the effects of the conflict on a wide range of communities, including the LGBTIQ+ community, and to point out ways in which Colombian society can deepen its pluralism, which implies guaranteeing the rights of everybody in our country.
Mildrey: If the current government wants to be consistent with its discourse, which is based on human security, the implementation of the NAP 1325 provides the framework within which to do this - to demonstrate that it is possible to develop an integral and plural approach to peace. In this case, in relation to the LGBTIQ+ community, it's also very important to stress that they have been struggling for many years now, because they have been campaigning for a public policy that focuses on their rights. They have been successful in this and now they're working on the NAP 1325, for the implementation of the policy that they have been successful in achieving both legally and politically. So the challenge for the government is that it's implemented and that it really does respond to the needs of the LGBTIQ+ community.
What gives you the hope and motivation to continue in your work and what does ‘Total Peace’ mean to you?
Lilibeth: The changes that we've seen in our country are slow, but I think that we have been making progress. Sometimes there are setbacks, but I think this is the way that historical change happens - there are always setbacks. However, we’re committed to continue constructing a better world, which will take time, but we are on the path towards it. We need to have a historical perspective - it's crucial so that we don't get frustrated and, particularly in countries like Colombia, where sometimes you feel that you go two steps forward and three back, or that history is repeating itself, we need to keep reminding ourselves of how far we’ve come to hold on to our hope.
But it's also very true that the pain of people, what people have suffered, is always there. We're always aware of that. We are committed to continue working because people have a right to better conditions of life. So we don't think we've got the solution, but we think we can contribute to change and that things can change politically in a direction that we think is the most appropriate way forward. In our case, that means a feminist perspective.
“As human rights defenders, there are many of us who’ve been doing this work for decades, whose work means that we’re able to have this conversation today”
Lilibeth and Mildrey speaking to Parliamentarians during their visit to the UK
Mildrey: We maintain hope, because the human rights and the social movements in Colombia have got an organisational capacity that's really impressive. There are achievements that often times we don't even recognise ourselves. I think we need to learn to recognise the achievements that we have had. There have been transformations in the institutional structures that we have today, tools that people can use, and changes in the institutional framework that people can use to demand their rights. The normative framework used to demand respect for rights has strengthened, and thus there's been a tremendous strengthening of the victims since - this is really impressive. The victims have a capacity of resilience and to transform the pain that they've experienced into power, into strength, in order to demand truth and justice. I think that this is an example of what keeps us going.
This is very emotional for me, it is always hard to talk about it. Yes, sometimes you feel that you're obliged to keep going, that you have to keep going - it affects you very profoundly. You feel that you can't take a step back, because there are many people behind you - you've got to keep working. However, there's such a tremendous need, so you've got to keep showing strength because so many people are behind the struggles that we're engaged in. It's a very emotional thing to do.
Lilibeth: I think that it's good that every now and again, we stop and we talk about what we've done, to look at our perspective of the future. There are so many challenges that are so overwhelming on this path, but it also creates a lot of satisfaction. I think that it is important to be able to take stock.
A lot of effort and bravery is involved in it too. We need to use this bravery not to throw in the towel, even when at times, we experience really difficult situations. As human rights defenders, there are many of us who've been doing this work for decades, whose work means that we're able to have this conversation today. We can talk about this from a perspective where we're able to say we're making progress, so I think that I have to thank those people that have carried out super-human activities when they're only human beings. They've given their whole lives to this struggle. And when the sun goes down in the evenings, there are people who work from their humanity and that's the most important thing - we're human beings and I think it's very important that we recognise this.
What role can the international community, including the UK, play in supporting your work and that of other human rights defenders?
Mildrey: I think the international community has done a lot, and it has a very important role to play in order to contribute to improving the situation in Colombia. Organisations like PBI have saved lives in our country. PBI has contributed to creating spaces in which people can construct proposals and work on the ongoing situation, which has helped us also to keep this hope going that we've spoken about. The protective accompaniment, the human connection that PBI gives us is fundamental to our work. This is the role the international community can play - helping us to enter into dialogues with international bodies, helping us speak with our own government about their international commitments, and they can monitor the implementation of the agreements that the Colombian authorities have entered into as a result of the international work. I think it's fundamental that there is permanent protective accompaniment available to human rights defenders. It’s all part of the very powerful work that civil society has carried out, for example, recognition of the role of civil society by the international community contributes to their protection, to strengthening democracy, and to the recognition of the participation of Colombian civil society organisations.
Lilibeth: I think it's important to continue engaging in international solidarity. Solidarity from the international community has been very important in enabling us to arrive at the point we're at, and has saved lives in the country. It’s clear that the construction of peace in Colombia is not going to be something that happens overnight. But, the international support and solidarity will help us both on the national and the regional levels, to establish inclusive discussions about the armed conflict in Colombia and the situation that we're living through at the moment. It’s vital that institutions make the link between organised crime, gender-based violence, violence against the LGBTIQ+ community, against women - all of the challenges that democratic states face currently, and that they deal with these generalised forms of violence in different areas and regions. I'm thinking of Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Venezuela. Supporting the work that we carry out in Colombia is also related to constructing better standards to deal with the problems that we face in the region more broadly, which will eventually have an important impact on the situations in different countries. Therefore, the possibility to talk with parliamentarians and authorities in different countries in order to demonstrate the ways in which their support to countries like ours is also an important way of acting globally, in order to deal with situations that affect individuals and societies.
➜ Find out more about the call by more than 45 human rights organisations for the UK Government to develop an effective and holistic policy for the protection of human rights defenders, incorporating some of Mildrey and Lilibeth’s calls, here.
➜ Donate here to help us continue our support to women human rights defenders like Mildrey and Lilibeth!
