Women, Peace, and Security News: Latin America & the Caribbean
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2008

Mexico: Native women mobilise for their rights
September 1, 2008 (AWID) - If the Mexican government has not addressed the demands of indigenous women in the southern state of Oaxaca by the end of the first week of September, 10,000 native women will travel to the capital to directly pressure President Felipe Calderón. "We are fed up," said one of the leading activists.

Major step forward in Paraguay's investigations into sexual slavery of girls
August 13, 2008 (AI) - Investigations into girls subjected to sexual slavery in Paraguay during the Stroessner dictatorship have taken a major step forward thanks to one woman's testimony. This in turn has encouraged other women to come forward and testify about their experiences of sexual slavery, giving greater weight to the Truth and Justice Commission's investigation.

Argentina: First Regional Workshop on Gender and Peacekeeping (SCR 1325)
July 2008 - (Iansa.org) From 20-22 May 2008 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina (REMUI) organised the First Regional Workshop for the Development of a Gender Policy in the Framework of Peacekeeping Operations, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Colombia: Betancourt in plea to Farc rebels
July 20, 2008 (BBC News) - The recently freed French-Colombian politician, Ingrid Betancourt, has urged her former captors, the Marxist Farc rebels, to release all hostages.

Venezuela must implement new law on violence against women
July 17, 2008 - (Amnesty.org) In a new report published on Wednesday 16 July, Amnesty International urged the Venezuelan authorities to show the political will and provide the resources needed to ensure the new law on violence against women will not just exist on paper.

MEXICO: Ransacking of Longtime Women's News Agency
July 8, 2008 (AWID) - The devastation and disorder of a burglary and violent vandalism at the women’s news agency CIMAC (Women’s Communication & Information) offices in Mexico City last weekend suggest that it was more than a common break-in, according to Lucía Lagunes Huerta, general director of the organization.

Women’s Ministries Come Together to Strengthen Gender Equality in Latin America
July 1, 2008 (INSTRAW) - Over the past 20 years national mechanisms for the promotion of women has been established throughout Latin America.Currently, those responsible for these mechanisms are building networks aimed at strengthening their political incidence and making gender equality policies a priority for all Latin American governments.

Justice is Bittersweet as Killers are Sentenced for 1982 Massacre in Guatemala
June 16, 2008 (AdvocacyNet) - Salamá, Guatemala: The five former paramilitaries shuffled into the courtroom in this small country town, convicted of participating in one the most notorious massacres in Guatemala's 36-year-long civil war. Now they awaited a sentence.

Support for the Creation of an Observatory on Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean
June 12, 2008 (INSTRAW) - José Luis Machinea, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Carmen Moreno, Director at UN-INSTRAW signed an agreement to support the establishment of an Observatory on Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Colombia/Ecuador: disappearances
June 10, 2008 - (Alertnet) UNHCR is "calling for the full and speedy resolution of the investigations into allegations of disappearances, as well as torture, attempted rape and death threats, against members of a Colombian refugee community in Ecuador."

Guatemalan Women Denounce Political Violence against Women
June 3, 2008 (INSTRAW) - Very few Guatemalan women are elected to local government, and in addition, they face aggression and discrimination. This was evident in the framework of the First Interdepartmental Meeting of Women in Municipal Governments and Women’s Commissions held in Panajachel, Solalá, with the support of UN-INSTRAW.

COLOMBIA: Defending Women's Defenders
June 9, 2008 - (IPS) After nearly six years of the "democratic security" policy of the government of rightwing President Álvaro Uribe, women activists in Colombia are as vulnerable to human rights abuses as ever, said female rights defenders who met recently in the Colombian capital.

Haiti: UNICEF deplores spike in number of kidnappings of Haitian children
June 5, 2008 – (UN News Center) The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has joined a national call across Haiti to halt the surge this year in the number of kidnappings of children in the impoverished country. At least 50 children have been kidnapped already this year, compared to 31 for the first five months of last year. More than half the victims have been girls.

Former nun helps Mexico 'femicide' victims recover
June 5, 2008 - (CSMonitor) Life in Anapra has never been easy. Many of the hundreds of local women murdered in the past 15 years hail from this border town, one of the most violent and marginalized communities in Mexico. And while international attention on the "femicides" abates, the psychology of fear, the cycle of poverty, and a stubborn macho culture are now stirred by a wave of drug-trafficking violence in nearby Ciudad Juárez.

Brazil: Leave or be killed
May 1, 2008 (Amnesty International The Wire) - Women living in Brazil’s shanty towns struggle to survive against a backdrop of gang and police violence, discrimination and state neglect. Across the country, in thousands of favelas and marginalized communities, millions of Brazilians live under the control of criminal gangs. The absence of the state has created a vacuum which has allowed these gangs to dominate every aspect of life.

PARAGUAY's elections: Indigenous Woman on Course for Senate
April 17, 2008 (IPS) - An indigenous woman has an excellent chance of winning a seat in Congress for the first time in the history of Paraguay, in Sunday’s general elections.

Guatemala: Major Step to Stop Violence Against Women
April 10, 2008 (NIMD) - The much discussed “Law Against Feminicide and Other Forms of Violence Against Women” was approved in Congress under loud applause from the public tribune, where representatives of political parties and women organisations had been awaiting the approval of the law.

CHILE: Bachelet Unveils New Indigenous Policy
April 2, 2008 (IPS) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced a new policy for indigenous people, which includes (...) strengthening indigenous communities’ participation in the political and social arenas, recognition and strengthening of their rights, improvement of the quality of life of indigenous people living in urban areas, empowerment of women, and promoting education and culture.

colombia: Colombia's displaced women sexually abused and forced into early motherhood
April 2, 2008 - (Alertnet) Wherever they are, displaced women are easy prey to sexual exploitation and abuse - from partners, relatives, neighbours, landlords and strangers and many become mothers at a very young age. While 20 percent of Colombian teenage girls have been pregnant, that figure goes up to 30 percent for internally displaced girls.

Nicaragua: For Nicaraguans, International Women’s Day Marks a Step Back
March 8, 2008 (HRW) Until recently, Nicaraguan women had something to celebrate on March 8, International Women’s Day. Nicaraguan women have fought for years to protect women’s rights, not to restrict them, and decades ago the government eliminated some of the sexist laws that discriminated against women.

GUATEMALA: Indigenous Women Weave Incomes, Self-Confidence
February 18, 2008 - (IPS) "Before forming part of the association, we were shut up in our houses. Now we have overcome our fear and shame of going out and seeing new places, and we are bringing money in for our families," says Nicolasa Raxtun, a 30-year-old Maya Cakchiquel Indian woman.

MEXICO: MEXICAN WOMAN FIGHTS FOR VOTING RIGHTS Eufrosina Cruz runs for mayor, says Constitution trumps indigenous laws
February 12, 2008 (csmonitor) SANTA MARIA QUIGOLANI, MEXICO - Women in this Indian village high in the pine-clad mountains of Oaxaca rise each morning at 4 a.m. to gather firewood, grind corn, prepare the day's food, care for the children, and clean the house.

COLOMBIA: Hostages’ Release, Seen from the Other Side
January 11, 2008 - (IPS) While the international spotlight was shined on two women hostages released by Colombia’s FARC guerrillas, IPS interviewed by telephone a woman who reflects the other side of the hostage crisis.

Colombia rebels free two hostages from jungle
January 10, 2008 - (Reuters) With tears, smiles and long hugs, two women hostages were freed by Colombia's Marxist rebels on Thursday after years in the jungle, raising hopes for dozens more languishing in secret camps.

WLP Convenes First Regional Institute in Central America
January, 2008 (WLP) Women's Learning Partnership and Fondo para el Desarollo de la Mujer (FODEM) convened the first Central America Regional Training of Trainers Institute for Women's Leadership from January 28th-February 1st in Managua, Nicaragua. The Institute brought together twenty-four participants from seven countries in the region: Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador.

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