News

Congratulations

Congratulations to Alejandra Miller Restrepo, PWAG board member, who has been elected to the official National Truth Commission of Colombia.

The 50-year civil war in Colombia ended in late 2016 with a peace agreement between the government and the FARC rebels. The National Truth Commission, which was intrinsic to the peace treaty, is now part of a program of truth, justice, reparation and non-recurrence. Their task is to shed light on what happened and to present holistically the complexity of the armed conflict. In addition, the Truth Commission focuses on the victims and clarifies the responsibilities of direct and indirect parties, as well as society as a whole. The Truth Commission is not a legal body, it is simply committed to determining the truth. In addition, it is charged with promoting the coexistence of the various conflict parties through exchange forums. In addition to Alejandra Miller Restrepo, four more women and six men were appointed to the commission. The presidency is held by the Francisco de Roux, a Jesuit.

"There can be no real truth without the voice of women" 

In 2013, Alejandro Miller Restrepo, the Colombian economist and activist, together with Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres, the feminist organisation, published a civil society report about female survivors of the armed conflict. "There can be no real truth without the voice of women" - this is the study’s slogan. In the National Truth Commission, intersectionality (the view that women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity) and gender equality are as much official criteria as victim-centeredness and impartiality. We are very pleased that Alejandra Miller will represent the voices of the war-affected women in Colombia for the National Truth Commission. We heartily congratulate our Executive Secretary and would like to express our solidarity and support for this demanding and sometimes dangerous task.Read more about the peace process in Colombia, as well as an interview with Alejandra Miller Restrepo in Newsletter 1/2017.

Alejandra Miller Restrepo - PeaceWoman of the Month December 2017