Foreign Minister Plassnik had a meeting yesterday with women defenders of human rights from Mexico, Guatemala and Columbia in order to have direct contact with women from Latin America before the summit begins. “It was important to me to get a personal, authentic assessment from these active women”, she said.
“The subject of human rights is firmly on the agenda for the EU-Latin America Summit. I will of course bring up these brave women’s concerns in my discussions over the coming days. Human rights are a natural component of the close dialogue between Europe and Latin America”, Plassnik declared.
Women who fight for human rights and especially women’s rights are often exposed to special risks, as their activity questions the traditional role of women. According to Plassnik “women defenders of human rights need our special protection and our attention. As President of the Council of the EU, I have therefore asked local representatives of the EU Presidency throughout the world to maintain visible contacts with woman who defend human rights. Such heightened attention in itself often affords them greater protection. María del Mar García from Mexico and Claudia Samayoa Pineda from Guatemala reported to me that this initiative is already being successfully applied in practice.”
Firm action to combat violence against women is extremely important. Murders of women are a particularly brutal manifestation of such violence. The state authorities cannot or often will not intervene. In their meeting with Foreign Minister Plassnik, the women defenders of human rights described this impunity for the perpetrators as a central problem. Plassnik responded by stating that “we must put an end to impunity. This is an international issue. In order to reconcile societies with themselves and with their own history, we must on the one hand fight against forgetting and burying of memories, and on the other hand create confidence. Nationally and internationally for the sake of the future.”
"A society is highly vulnerable during and immediately after an armed conflict. Here, too, it is often women who suffer most. At the same time, women have a particular role to play in rebuilding society. It is especially important during this phase to prevent violent behaviour patterns from re-emerging. For this reason, when the new UN Commission for Peace Consolidation was being set up, I made a special plea for the important role of women to be taken into account in peace processes”, she concluded.
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