During Colombianätverket’s seminar about women as peace actors in Colombia, Yenly Angéllon Méndez told several stories about how women engage themselves to stop the conflict that has been wreaking havoc in Colombia for decades. But when Operation 1325 asked her how resolution 1325 is used in the Colombian setting, she answered that the only organisations working with 1325 are those especially made from the resolution. Most of the other organisations are instead oblivious to resolution 1325’s existence or they simply judge the resolution as something that does not affect them.
Issue of legal symbolism
Resolution 1325 is supposed to be an important fram of work to secure that women take their rightful place in peace and democracy processes at all levels in society. However, the actual situation in Colombia does not seem to correspond with the ambition of resolution 1325, and the resolution, according to Yenly Angéllon Méndez, “is looked upon as an issue of legal symbolism“, given that women’s organisations have actually heard of the resolution. Méndez shares that the Colombian peace process has a strong local connection, and that global juridical frameworks like resolution 1325 are often looked upon by women’s organisations as factors that will not have an effect in the process.
1325 only used in certain spheres
Naturally, there are organisations practicing their advocacy work with clear refernces to resolution 1325, Angéllon Méndez underlines, but these organisations are few and haven’t succeeded in lifting the resolution in a substantially in the peace process. The resolution has therefore become a tool only in certain spheres, resulting in a split in the general movement for women’s rights and peace.
Success without 1325
“The resolution is not within my line of expertise, and many with me do not have the awareness that resolution 1325 is an important cause to work with“, says Angéllon Méndez. She continues by saying that “women’s organisations have succeeded in shining a light on the fact that women are vulnerable in conflict because they are women. That is a huge success in itself, and an important part of a future peace process“.
The question however remains: Can Colombia reach a sustainable peace process without the strategic implementation of resolution 1325?
Julle Bergenholtz
