After the massacre she went on to create an organisation called Mujeres Tejiendo la Paz (Women Weaving Peace), which works with victims of sexual and domestic violence and aims to include Colombian women in peacebuilding and national reconciliation.
Originally from El Bordo, Department of Cauca, Colombia, María Alejandra Martínez, is the daughter of fighters for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP). After they died during military operations, she was trained for guerrilla warfare.
Actor Daniel Craig visits the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus in his role as UN Global Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Explosive Hazards.
As the United Nations and the world continue to seek solutions to global security crises and strive to build sustainable peace, it is our hope that these images serve as a reminder of the many ways women are working to prevent conflict and secure a sustainable peace.
As the United Nations Security Council holds the annual Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security to discuss protection of women and girls in conflict and women's leadership in preventing, resolving, and recovering from conflicts, the war in Syria enters its sixth year, contributing to a global refugee crisis.
Inequality is at the root of the conflict. When you have peace in the home, you can have peace in the society. I don’t agree that some roles are exclusively for men and others for women. In my home, men and women are treated equally because there is division of labour.
Even as women continue to bear the brunt of war, there is increased recognition of their pivotal role as peacebuilders. For example, in 2015, 7 out of 10 peace agreements signed included gender specific provisions—a vast improvement compared against the analysis showing that only 73 out of 664 agreements produced between 1990 and 2000 included a reference to women.