The Diplomat
The Ibero-American Network of Women Mediators, promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Ministry, the National Institute of Women of Mexico and the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), was presented yesterday in Madrid, with the aim of “advancing the effective participation of women in the prevention and mediation of conflicts, in the reconstruction of the social fabric and in peace processes“, according to the SEGIB in a press release.
During the event, the member countries of the Network – which includes Andorra, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay – signed the constitutive act, approved the 2023-2024 Work Programme and elected its first president, who will be Mexico.
The Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand, congratulated the Network and the countries that have promoted it, because its work, he explained, “is synonymous with democracy”, since “if women are not represented in our societies, it is not democracy”.
Allamand also pointed out that the launch of this Network is a reinforcement of the United Nations Women, Peace and Security Agenda; it complements at regional level the global coverage of regional networks on gender issues and multiplies the weight of Ibero-American women in the international arena.
Nadine Gasman Zylbermann, President of the National Women’s Institute of Mexico, said that the launch of the Ibero-American Network of Women Mediators “is an example of the efforts we are making as a region to prevent and eliminate violence against women”.
