ACT Alliance, the World Council of Churches and the World Communion of Reformed Churches sent a joint letter to President Gustavo Petro Urrego of Colombia and the High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda Rodriguéz on November 28, 2022, congratulating them on including four women, including Rev. Adelaida Jiménez, a Presbyterian pastor, in the eight person team negotiating a peace agreement with the National Liberation Army (ELN).

“Women’s engagement in peacebuilding, peace mediation and negotiation is fundamental, given that as refugees, internally displaced persons, combatants, heads of households, community leaders, activists and peacebuilders, women and men experience conflict differently,” the letter reads. 

“Women make a difference [in peace negotiations],” it continues, “in part because they generally take a more comprehensive approach towards human security and address key social and economic issues that would otherwise be ignored.”

“We reaffirm our commitment to accompany the Colombian people in their search for lasting peace in Colombia and in the region,” the letter concludes. “We pray that you will be granted wisdom and strength to reach that goal.”

Read the full letter here.