Much remains to be done to protect and promote Afro-Descendant communities’ rights and development in Colombia, according to the panel discussion hosted by the Inter-American Dialogue, the Gender and Diversity Unit at the Inter-American Development Bank, and Phelps Stokes on May 20, 2011. Although Colombia has made steps in the right direction, current policies need to be reinforced. It was also suggested that Afro-Descendants work together across countries and communities to better envision a common purpose and to strengthen their political influence.
Women are integral to the process of post-conflict reconstruction in Latin America. On Friday, January 23, 2009, a panel of four women leaders from Bolivia and Colombia discussed the role of women in promoting a culture of non-violence and peace-building in the region.
In 1975, female politicians and women’s groups from around the world met in Mexico City for the UN’s First World Conference on Women. They discussed the plight of women, from their absence in politics to the unique social and economic problems women face, and devised a set of recommendations for improving women’s status.
Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, women’s policy agencies (WPAs) have been created in the context of democratization and state modernization, a context which has exerted considerable influence over the trajectory of these agencies throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
In 1999, the United Nations proclaimed Nov. 25 ”International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.” Latin America has been a world leader in promulgating conventions on women’s rights.
