Tag Archives: Latin America

Guatemala: Transforming justice for women in Latin America

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article by Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey and Melanne Verveer in openDemocracy (Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey was attorney general of Guatemala from 2010 until 2014)

In order to effectively reduce female murders, Latin American nations must combat one of the leading causes of death for women—gender-based violence—whereby perpetrators target victims because of their gender and act in the context of unequal power relations between men and women.

Guatemala presents a case study of how innovative 24-hour courts and revised trainings for law enforcement can increase convictions related to gender-based violence and ultimately reduce the number of female murders.


Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey
(Click on photo to enlarge)

Guatemala’s high female murder rate—9.1 murders for every 100,000 women between 2007 and 2012—is impacted by regional crime, drug trafficking, and gang violence. But at least half of female murders in Guatemala are femicides.

Guatemala was the first country to officially recognize femicide—the murder of a woman because of her gender—as a crime in 2008. Four years later, the country created a national database to record basic data on all cases of violent deaths of women. This database allowed the Attorney General’s office to identify weaknesses in the investigation of femicides and the gender-based violence that often precedes them, and subsequently to develop pilot programs to address crimes associated with violence against women before they escalated to murder.

Most notably, the Attorney General’s office and the Supreme Court of Justice collaborated in 2012 to establish a 24-hour court to handle urgent investigative measures required in gender violence crimes immediately. The court operated inside the Comprehensive Care Model (Modelo de Atención Integral) created in 2009, and offered a model of comprehensive services: forensic experts, police, psychologists, clinical physicians, and prosecutors were all brought together in a single space in Guatemala City to serve the survivors of gender-based violence.

In the Comprehensive Care Model, it was the institutions that revolved around women, rather than women having to travel to each institution or worse, having to choose between medical care and access to justice. The 24-hour court, one of the first in Latin America, immediately increased the number of protection measures and arrest warrants authorized, and led to an increase in the number of people sent to prison for violence against women and sexual exploitation.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

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Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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At the same time, Guatemala also took efforts to address prejudicial or inadequate investigations, which limited women’s access to justice. The Attorney General’s office had found that officers in charge of gender-based violence investigations tended to blame the victim because of her way of dressing, her prior conduct, or her prior or family relationship with the perpetrator. It was common to hear “algo haría” (she must have done something) or “ella se lo buscó” (she was looking for it).

Investigators also failed to take account of the context of crime: they frequently neglected to inquire whether there had been prior acts or reports of violence against women or sexual violence concurrent with the murder, or whether the victim resided in an area where any criminal organization operated.

Further, violence against women was treated with little importance by judges. This translated into delays before evidence could be collected or an arrest warrant or a search warrant was issued; these cases were the last in line on the agenda of court hearings.

In response, Guatemala began to offer specialized training for prosecutorial officers investigating cases of sexual violence, violence against women, and femicides. Once a victim approached the Attorney General’s office, she was made to feel protected. New instructions guided the investigations of intimate femicide, sexual femicide, and femicide in the context of a criminal group or organization, especially gangs or organizations associated with drug trafficking.

In the year following these innovations, the convictions for female murders in Guatemala rose from 55 to 91. This increase in convictions translated into far fewer cases, from 393 (178 resulting in death) in 2010 to 193 (103 resulting in death) in 2013 in Guatemala City.

The trend in convictions and cases was not observed at the national level, where the model has yet to be fully implemented. This must be done: Guatemala must expand 24-hour courts and trainings for law enforcement around the nation, and throughout the region. This deployment should be accompanied by non-criminal measures for preventing violence against women, such as educational policies and those aimed at greater gender equality in economic and political matters.

Many survivors of gender-based violence in Guatemala have told us that, today, they know justice is possible in Guatemala. While Guatemala is still struggling to effectively combat violence against women, these localized interventions present a promising model for expanding women’s access to justice in the region.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Nicaragua: Culture of Peace Proposed to Eradicate Violence

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article in El Nuevo Diario (translated by CPNN)

Karla Miranda, a third year psychology student, speaking about violence against women, said that aggressors should be evaluated by psychologists to understand the cause of their attitude. “Violent behavior often originates from childhood, so it is important that we know the history of these people in order to assess the origins of violence,” she said.

This was said yesterday at the fair called Growing a Culture of Peace, held at the University Cátolica (Unica), in the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, with the aim of promoting values ​​in society and raising awareness on this topic.


Rosa Salgado, with microphone, speaks before students of the Catholic University. (Photo: Melvin Vargas)
(Click on photo to enlarge)

Johnny Hodgson, career coordinator for the campus, explained that the fair was developed with different talks, information stands and cultural events so that students and experts could address the issues of violence.

“We did not just want to be part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, but rather to do something more integral, where everyone is involved. In addition, we promote spaces to come and share how to face, understand and avoid violence, “said Hodgson.

Karla Miranda added that “another important aspect is that in raising children, it is necessary to educate in values, so that the children grow up with the value to not violate either girls or children. That is why this topic must be addressed at the level of the family. ”

Miranda recalled that in 2013 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared violence against women as a public health problem and in that sense added that psychological violence is the one that most affects and causes the most damage.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

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Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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Ana Hidalgo Mendoza, Miranda’s colleague, commented that violence is a cycle that comes from the home. “The child who sees that his father violates his mother will grow up with that profile, believing that it is normal behavior, and in the case of the girls, they will believe that they must be submissive and when they are raped, they will believe that it is ok” “He added.

VALUE FORMATION

Rosa Salgado, representative of the disabled with the Office of the Attorney General for Human Rights (PDDH), addressed violence against women with disabilities.

Salgado said that a solution is the formation in values ​​that must be started from the home and the different spaces of society and education, “so that in this way we appropriate the understanding of human rights for ourselves. and that we make use of the legal instruments “.

“To the extent that we recognize how we can help and improve the quality of life of a person with a disability, conditions will be improved by preventing violence,” she said.

SCHOOL HARASSMENT

Eliuth Martínez, a teacher at the Unica and a pedagogical advisor at the Directorate of Special Education at the Ministry of Education (Mined), commented that throughout the school year they continued to develop a non-bullying campaign, as this problem began to emerge in classrooms.

According to Martinez, since last year the campaign has trained 6,000 to 8,000 teachers.

“It was enough to have 1 to 3 cases for the Government to act immediately. Today we can say that we have good results from the center and the delegates and even a free telephone line was set up to report these types of violence,” added the teacher.

About 35% of all women will experience violence, either in or out of the couple, at some point in their lives, according to WHO data published in 2013.

Martinez recently attended a case of a visually impaired girl who was believed to experience bullying on the part of her colleagues, to which the Mined immediately acted in conjunction with the educational councils, investigated the case and began work not only with the teachers but also with the students and the school in general.

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Mexico: Need to promote a culture of peace, to end violence against women: CEAMEG

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Sistema Michoacan for Radio and Television (translation by CPNN)

Mexico City.- The director general of the Center for Studies on the Advancement of Women and Gender Equality (CEAMEG) of the Chamber of Deputies, Adriana Ceballos Hernández, said that violence against women harms society every day, and, although there are important advances, there is still much to be done.

In inaugurating the forum “For a culture of peace”, she emphasized that violence should be eliminated in the relations of women and men, inculcating in people the knowledge of rights from childhood, respecting political rights of gender and understanding that abuse affects everyone around, especially children.

She considers it necessary to promote a culture of harmony in all fields of action.

The director of Social Studies of the Position and Condition of Women and Gender Equality of CEAMEG, Judith Díaz Delgado, explained that their organization works mainly for the prevention of violence.

She said that “we live in a violent Mexico with an absence of peace, in which seven out of ten suffer some type of abuse, so we can not say that there is a culture of peace.”

Guadalupe Salas y Villagómez, director of Promotion and Training of Women and Equality, of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), said that the CNDH is dedicated to raising awareness of human rights, equality between women and men, as well as awareness about gender-based abuse.

Finally, Ana Paula Hernández Romano, founder of Proyecto Paz A.C, pointed out that Mexico is far down the list in the 140th place of nations for providing a state of well-being. Meanwhile, the National Survey of Victimization and Perception on Public Safety (ENVIPE) for 2016, indicates that most Mexicans perceive that the problem of violence and insecurity is even greater than the problem of poverty and unemployment.

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

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Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Nobel Lecture by Juan Manuel Santos:”Peace in Colombia: From the Impossible to the Possible”

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Excerpts from the lecture published by the official website of the Nobel Prize, presented in Oslo, 10 December 2016.

Six years ago, it was hard for we Colombians to imagine an end to a war that had lasted half a century. To the great majority of us, peace seemed an impossible dream – and for good reason. Very few of us – hardly anybody – could recall a memory of a country at peace.

Today, after six years of serious and often intense, difficult negotiations, I stand before you and the world and announce with deep humility and gratitude that the Colombian people, with assistance from our friends around the world, are turning the impossible into the possible. . . .

With this agreement, we can say that the American continent – from Alaska to Patagonia – is a land in peace.

And we can now ask the bold question: if war can come to an end in one hemisphere, why not one day in both hemispheres? Perhaps more than ever before, we can now dare to imagine a world without war.

The impossible is becoming possible. . . .

I have served as a leader in times of war – to defend the freedom and the rights of the Colombian people – and I have served as a leader in times of making peace.

Allow me to tell you, from my own experience, that it is much harder to make peace than to wage war.

When it is absolutely necessary, we must be prepared to fight, and it was my duty – as Defence Minister and as President – to fight illegal armed groups in my country.

When the roads to peace were closed, I fought these groups with effectiveness and determination

But it is foolish to believe that the end of any conflict must be the elimination of the enemy.

A final victory through force, when nonviolent alternatives exist, is none other than the defeat of the human spirit.

Seeking victory through force alone, pursuing the utter destruction of the enemy, waging war to the last breath, means failing to recognize your opponent as a human being like yourself, someone with whom you can hold a dialogue with.

Dialogue…based on respect for the dignity of all. That was our recourse in Colombia. And that is why I have the honour to be here today, sharing what we have learned through our hard-won experience.

Our first and most vital step was to cease thinking of the guerrillas as our bitter enemies, and to see them instead simply as adversaries. . .

A few lessons can be learned from Colombia’s peace process and I would like to share them with the world:

You must properly prepare yourself and seek advice, studying the failures of peace attempts in your own country and learning from other peace processes, their successes and their problems.

The agenda for the negotiation should be focussed and specific, aimed at solving the issues directly related to the armed conflict, rather than attempting to address all the problems faced by the nation.

Negotiations should be carried out with discretion and confidentiality in order to prevent them from turning into a media circus.

Sometimes it is necessary to both fight and talk at the same time if you want to arrive at peace – a lesson I took from another Nobel laureate, Yitzhak Rabin.

You must also be willing to make difficult, bold and oftentimes unpopular decisions in order to reach your final goal.

In my case, this meant reaching out to the governments of neighbouring countries with whom I had and continue to have deep ideological differences.

(Click here for a Spanish version of the speech)

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What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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Regional support is indispensable in the political resolution of any asymmetric war. Fortunately, today all the countries in the region are allies in the search for peace, the noblest purpose any society can have.

We also achieved a very important objective: agreement on a model of transitional justice that enables us to secure a maximum of justice without sacrificing peace.

I have no doubt this model will be one of the greatest legacies of the Colombian peace process. . . .

And I feel that I must take this opportunity to reiterate the call I have been making to the world since the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena in 2012, which led to a special session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in April this year.

I am referring to the urgent need to rethink the world War on Drugs, a war where Colombia has been the country that has paid the highest cost in deaths and sacrifices.

We have moral authority to state that, after decades of fighting against drug trafficking, the world has still been unable to control this scourge that fuels violence and corruption throughout our global community.

The peace agreement with the FARC includes their commitment to cut all ties with the drug business, and to actively contribute to fighting it.

But drug trafficking is a global problem that demands a global solution resulting from an undeniable reality: The War on Drugs has not been won, and is not being won.

It makes no sense to imprison a peasant who grows marijuana, when nowadays, for example, its cultivation and use are legal in eight states of the United States.

The manner in which this war against drugs is being waged is equally or perhaps even more harmful than all the wars the world is fighting today, combined. It is time to change our strategy. . .
In Colombia, we have also been inspired by the initiatives of Malala, the youngest Nobel Laureate, because we know that only by developing minds, through education, can we transform reality.

We are the result of our thoughts; the thoughts that create our words; the words that shape our actions.

That is why we must change from within. We must replace the culture of violence with a culture of peace and coexistence; we must change the culture of exclusion into a culture of inclusion and tolerance. . . .

In a world where citizens are making the most crucial decisions – for themselves and for their nations – out of fear and despair, we must make the certainty of hope possible.

In a world where wars and conflicts are fuelled by hatred and prejudice, we must find the path of forgiveness and reconciliation.

In a world where borders are increasingly closed to immigrants, where minorities are attacked and people deemed different are excluded, we must be able to coexist with diversity and appreciate the way it can enrich our societies.

We are human beings after all. For those of us who are believers, we are all God’s children. We are part of this magnificent adventure of being alive and populating this planet.

At our core, there are no inherent differences: not the colour of our skin; nor our religious beliefs; nor our political ideologies, nor our sexual preferences. All these are simply facets of humanity’s diversity.

Let’s awaken the creative capacity for goodness, for building peace, that live within each soul.

In the end, we are one people and one race; of every colour, of every belief, of every preference.

The name of this one people is the world. The name of this one race is humanity.

If we truly understand this, if we make it part of our individual and collective awareness, then we will cut the very root of conflicts and wars.

In 1982 – 34 years ago – the efforts to find peace through dialogue began in Colombia.

That same year, in Stockholm, Gabriel García Márquez, who was my ally in the pursuit of peace, received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and spoke about “a new and sweeping utopia of life, (…) where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude will have, at last and forever, a second opportunity on earth.”

Today, Colombia – my beloved country – is living that second opportunity; and I thank you, members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, because, on this occasion, you have not only awarded a prize to peace: you helped make it possible!

The sun of peace finally shines in the heavens of Colombia.

May its light shine upon the whole world!

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Colombia: The Challenge of Territorial Peace

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Antonio Madariaga Reales, Executive Director, Corporación Viva la Ciudadanía (translated by CPNN)

Hope returns, uncertainty diminishes and peacemaking is becoming possible. That is the first result of the hectic week in which the final peace agreement was endorsed in exhausting parliamentary sessions, in Tuesday in the Senate and Wednesday in the House. On Thursday the process began that must lead to the transfer in the veredales zones and points of normalization by the members of the Farc-EP, including the abandonment of their weapons It is called D-day: on Friday the Commission of Follow-up, Impulse and Verification of the Implementation of the Agreement was installed.

What is clear then is that we have to think of the most democratic and efficient way of implementing the agreements. In this regard, the first thing that appears on the horizon is the need to think about territorial peace. We must give content to that expression, coined by Sergio Jaramillo and today common place in the debate about the peace accords.

Territorial peace requires the design, implementation and monitoring of public policies, with citizen participation. It means a human rights approach, institutional means to execute the policy, some plans and budgets to develop it and transparency which implies – of course – monitoring and social control.

It has to be concrete. The prioritization categories used by the Fundación Pares include local infrastructure: tertiary roads and river navigability, 24-hour lighting and sewage and aqueducts, immediate response on issues of local justice administration and rural security, alternative projects that allow control and mitigation of the effects of illegal economies, physical security and guarantee of participation for human rights defenders. Priorities include local social leaders and additional actions focusing on Unsatisfied Basic Needs (NBI), United Nations supervision of Farc-EP, and local capacities for development, poverty alleviation and humanitarian needs. Counting the municipalities where there will be veredales zones and points of normalization, we have the number of 297 municipalities that should be the priority and that are in, amazingly enough (!), 25 of the 32 departments . Hence the question: how to have national policies which recognize and allow regional diversity, and are implemented in the territories themselves?

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(Click here for the original version of this article in Spanish.

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What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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To achieve all this, it is essential to map out and convene all relevant actors in the territory, from a transparent and efficient central state institution that develops actions aimed at the appropriation of the agreements by these actors. The actions must include dissemination and pedagogy and identify how they are put in the agreements, and from there their place and proposals in the implementation process. What is needed is that the national government and the president in particular take the decision to tour the country and deliver the New Agreement to all citizens. It is not sufficient just to have the act of the Teatro Colón.

It must be accompanied by a pact of transparency that establishes rules that make it possible for public monitoring of the process. This has been one of the elements most demanded by diverse groups of young people that have mobilized recently in defense of the peace accords.

In turn, it will be necessary to adapt existing institutional structures of these municipalities to incorporate participatory planning and budgeting as a method for their work.

If we add to this a battery of indicators of effective enjoyment of rights, as developed by the Constitutional Court from sentence T-025, we will have a powerful set of institutional and social tools for implementation.

There will be a need to qualify and extend citizen participation. As we said in a previous approach to this issue, what is at issue is to build and / or strengthen a Social and Democratic State at all levels of national life and in all corners of the country. This requires a strong civil society, with high levels of organization and public involvement, that is to say, an active citizenship.

Let us not be naive. All this will be the flower of a single day if the Democratic Center cannot continue to hold majorities in the national congress, departments and municipalities, as well as the Presidency in 2018. If we are not to lose the peace process,, we will have to defend it at the voting booth.

(Thank you to Amada Benavides, the CPNN reporter for this article)

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Colombia: Processes of pardon and reconciliation in the Magdalena Centro Department

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An article from the Magdalena Centro Development Program for Peace (translated by CPNN)

The Development Program for Peace of Magdalena Centro (PDPMC), now in its eleventh year of management in the territory, has focused its institutional capacity to favor scenarios that seek the construction of peace from different spheres, involving all the people. With them, strategies and work dynamics have been developed with the aim of promoting the recovery of the trust, networks and social fabrics that were broken down by the violence that they had to suffer.

magdalena

In this way, the PDPMC in coordination with the Foundation for Reconciliation, dynamizes in the territory the Schools of Pardon and Reconciliation (ESPERE), helping participants reinterpret the painful events that have limited the enjoyment of their lives, so that they can overcome the suffering and the painful memory of what happened.

The strategies of ESPERE are key elements that seek to rescue the individual from their pain, to restore security and confidence in themselves and in their relationships with others. This exercise also seeks to build capacities and to form “Leaders animators” in the territory who can then promote a political culture of pardon and reconciliation.

These exercises allow them to go forward in their process of overcoming the violent past to the point of feeling and calling themselves victorious; It provides needed support that can serve as a first impulse, contributing a grain of sand, so that they can overcome and then contribute from the Magdalena Centro to the construction of peace in Colombia.

The goal is that the people can involve strategies of pardon and reconciliation as elements of their life, understanding that if they are promoted as ways of living, they will humanize the everyday acts of people, valuing and seeking primarily the preservation of life.

As an end result, the PDPMC has the firm hope and confidence of not hearing more stories of violence; always with the conviction that peace is better than war, as well as dialog and the collective construction of solutions to the natural confrontations of people, recognizing that human processes build on differences to develop individual and collective relations.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

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Colombia: Juntos por la Paz, the youth collective that dialogues about peace in the Department of Cesar

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An article from El País Vallenat (translated by CPNN)

85 students from eight public educational institutions in La Jagua de Ibirico, Becerril and El Paso and two corregimientos, La Victoria de San Isidro and La Loma, held the 2016 closing event of the collective Juntos por La Paz, an initiative of the Prodeco Group that trains young students in peace issues in the context of the Colombia Postconflict peace process.

cesar

The closing event of the year was held at the auditorium Centro Virtua of La Jagua de Ibirico, and was attended by young students and the presence of Amaury Padilla, director of the Development and Peace Program of Cesar, who was in charge of a workshop on care and self-care in peacebuilding.

Throughout the year, students were formed into working groups for the production of a radio program to combat disinformation about the process of Peace Talks held between the FARC-EP and the National Government and to promote values ​​for peace.

In total, 20 radio programs were produced. They were broadcast on Energy 96.7 and half of these (10) in Caracol Radio Valledupar. For this, it was necessary to consult more than 15 sources of information, including Governors, Mayors; Representatives of National and Local Government and professionals in different social areas, such as psychologists, pedagogues and teachers. In their work as program reporters, a total of 25 interviews were conducted.

The students also held two days of reading and studying the first final agreement between the National Government of Colombia and the FARC EP. This promoted responsible and informed voting on the referendum.

Thanks to their participation in the group, the young people started activities to promote healthy coexistence inside and outside their educational institution, activities that included civic marches, socialization meetings with adults and parents and play for children.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

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Colombia: Creating a model of Territorial Peace in the Valle del Cauca, supported by the United Nations

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An article from the website of the Government of the Cauca Valley (translated by CPNN)

The United Nations and the Government of the Valley, have made final adjustments to what will be the territorial peace model in the Department, which is a joint commitment of the Governor, Dilian Francisca Toro and this international body.

cauca

During a meeting between representatives of the United Nations Development Program and the work team of the Secretariat of Peace of the Valley, headed by Fabio Cardozo, defined the criteria to develop programs and actions to be implemented within the component of Territorial peace, to be executed through a $ 6 million agreement, provided by the Department and UNDP.

Irina Marún Meyer, coordinator of territorial projects of the United Nations, highlighted the institutional work that will be done in municipalities and productive projects with victims of the armed conflict. She explained that “we are going to consolidate the Municipal Peace Councils, the Municipal Councils of Transitional Justice and the bodies that must be strengthened to form the network of peacebuilding strategy at the municipal level. Also we are identifying and characterizing organizations of victims that have a potential to develop productive projects “.

On the other hand, Mauricio Cas, UNDP territorial peace adviser, emphasized the institutional commitment of the Governor, Dilian Francisca Toro, to elevate the former Ministry of Peace of the Valley to the Secretariat, within the new organic composition of the Department.

“It seems to me a very important gesture of the Governor and the Departmental Government that will allow the Department to assume the commitment of the state in the face of the problem of victims and other types of problems arising from the situation of armed conflict,” said Cas.

On this issue, Secretary of Peace Fabio Cardozo said that “this strengthens our dialogue with communities, with institutions and with mayors.”

Considering the Territorial Peace initiative, he said that “it is one of the pillars of the Development Plan and has a strategy for investment, social, cultural processes, infrastructure and work articulated with the mayors.”

The Development Plan is the mandate that the Vallecaucans gave to the Governor, Dilian Francisca Toro, where attention to the victims is a priority. ” The United Nations Development Program and works for peace in 177 countries and territories and one of them will be the Valle del Cauca.

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Antioquia, Colombia: Young people united by a Territorial Peace!

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An article from the Fundación Mi Sangre (translated by CPNN)

We welcome our new project “Young Builders of a Territorial Peace” supported by the Ford Foundation and executed by the Prodepaz Corporation, which will last for 3 years. Twenty municipalities of Antioquia will be part of this initiative which will empower young people as agents of change to actively contribute to the construction of a Territorial Peace.

antioquia

The municipalities that are part of the project are: In Zona Bosques; Cocorná, San Francisco, San Luis and Puerto Triunfo; In Zona Paramo; Sonsón, Algeria and Nariño; in Zona Porce Nus; Maceo, Caracolí, San Roque and Santo Domingo; and in the Zona Altiplano; Rionegro, La Unión, La Ceja, El Retiro, Carmen de Viboral, El Peñol, Concepción and San Vicente.

The purpose is to train 848 young people, 90 significant adults and 240 boys and girls. Participants will strengthen their leadership skills, through our PAZalobien Change Leadership methodology, and likewise receive knowledge for working in organizations. Young people will not only be trained to be leaders, but also trainers, since the idea is for them to replicate what they have learned in the methodology with the children of their municipalities. They will also learn about issues of digital communication and citizen journalism that will allow them to recognize problems in their territories and influence through alternative communication tools and the Network of Young Peace Builders.

At present, there have been closer ties with social organizations, youth secretaries, educational institutions, and public and private entities. 15 youth groups are already working on the methodology and are carrying out diagnoses of their territories.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

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Mexico: Sixteenth National Congress of Mediation inaugurated in Tlalnepantla

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Cadena Política (translated by CPNN)

Tlalnepantla, Mexico.- At the inauguration of the XVI National Congress of Mediation, Mayor Denisse Ugalde Alegría reiterated the commitment that her 2016-2018 administration has to consolidate Tlalnepantla as a municipality with a culture of peace and in this way prevent violence and crime .

mediation

Addressing the national and international speakers who gathered at the Centennial Theater, the mayor affirmed that it is essential that local governments make mediation and conciliation a public policy in order to confront the speeches of hatred, conflict, intolerance and aggressiveness that day by day gain ground on a global level.

“It is in the municipalities where the real transformations that the country requires are achieved, which is why from the beginning of this administration we have worked to promote mediation as an alternative way of solving conflicts, aiming at achieving our objective,” she said. She thanked Jorge Pesqueira Leal, president of the Institute of Mediation of Mexico, for allowing Tlalnepantla to host this congress in which for four days specialists in the subject exchange experiences that contribute to a culture of peace.

Denisse Ugalde recalled that this municipality arose originally from the conciliation of two cultures, and that continue to work daily work on this matter. Proof of this is that so far this year more than 1,300 people have been trained in courses to have the basic tools to be conciliators and to resolve conflicts peacefully in their communities.

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(click here for the Spanish version)

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Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

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For his part, Jorge Pesqueira acknowledged the efforts that the local government has made to establish the Municipal Public Mediation and Conciliation Center and thus to promote restorative justice among citizens.

He pointed out that this congress will be a space for the transmission of knowledge, reflection and, mainly, generation of ideas, which will contribute to boost the work that the municipal government carries out in this matter.

Carlos Preza Millán, State Undersecretary of Government, said that for the State of Mexico it is an honor that Tlalnepantla is the seat of this XVI National Congress, since this locality was a pioneer in creating the Municipal Mediation Center, in which alternative dispute resolution methods are applied. He stressed that Governor Eruviel Avila Villegas has a great interest in this matter, always thinking about the welfare of Mexicans and strengthening the rule of law.

Partipants in the inauguration included Sergio Javier Medina Peñaloza, president of the Judicial Power of the State of Mexico; Jorge Alberto Zorrilla, head of the Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration; as well as Jorge Armando Chávez Enríquez, head of Municipal Justice and executive coordinator of the Congress. The authorities awarded the Medal of Peace and Concord to Martha Camargo, a judge of the Judiciary.

During the first day of work, Mayor Denisse Ugalde, Jorge Pesqueira and Lina Paola Rondón, adviser to the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights of Colombia, participated as speakers at the conference “Community mediation: Citizen Empowerment in Social Pacification and Prevention”.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America