Colombia

In response to the many known cases of sexual abuse and harassment of women by members of the armed forces and the police in different places in Colombia, at the end of July, the Colombian vice-president Martha Lucía Ramirez held a meeting with the Defence Ministry and the Military Forces. During this meeting, the Vice-president proposed the inclusion and recruitment of women as a strategy that could prevent violence against women by members of the military and police forces.

The German arms company Sig Sauer has announced it intends to close its arms factory in Eckernförde by the end of year. The company blamed "locational handicaps" and the German military and police preferring a "few other local producers".

It’s not new for anyone that militarism has a huge impact on people lives. Sometimes it can be more obvious or easier to see, but sometimes it is not so clear. Last year, ACOOC, one of the antimilitarist organisations in Colombia, carried out research on violence against women by their husbands or partners that are members of police force or army.

Last year, Corporación Otra Escuela joined WRI network as associated. Learn more about their work and read their reflections on the current Covid-19 crisis.

In May we were very happy to welcome two new organisations to our international, antimilitarist network!

Read Brayan's story, a CO in Colombia recruited irregularly by the army. Use our support letter and share this solidarity call out with others.

We have launched the CO book in its Spanish edition. On February 20th we held a launching event in Bogotá where we reflected on the book's content and discussed about all the ways we can object and resist war.

On the first day of our Antimilitarism in Movement conference, Nada Hussien discussed the impact of Israeli militarisation around the world. Here is an edited version of her speech.

As we reflect on the Antimilitarism in Movement conference, the escalating conflict in Colombia, throughout Latin America and the world, as well as the encounter between the different manifestations of resistance from civil society, we can see how nonviolent direct action continues to be a strategy of nonviolent empowerment that interweaves ideas, stories and alternatives.

The Antimilitarist Network in Latin America and the Caribbean outline how militarisation impacts communities across the region

This article explores the experience of the El Garzal community, in the South of Bolívar in Colombia, and is based on the presentation made by Pastor Salvador Alcántara during the WRI "Antimilitarism in Movement" Conference.

In the year thus far, the growing military presence in the south-western territories of Cauca, Colombia, has put various communities, which make up the ancestral lands in which they inhabit, at great risk. The reports lodged by the CRIS- the Regional Indigenous Board of Cauca- have been many, and these complaints have been ignored and unaddressed by the Colombian government.