Nobel Peace Laureates call for concerted action to protect frontlines human rights defenders

An independent fact-finding mission of women Nobel Peace Laureates visiting the "northern triangle – Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras" declared that “violence against women—including murder, rape and forced disappearances—has reached a crisis point in the region.” They called for “concerted and immediate action to protect women—including those women doing frontline human rights work.” They link this crisis to militarization and U.S. sponsored drug war policies.

“The war on drugs and increased militarization in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala is becoming a war on women,” said Jody Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines. “The governments’ efforts to improve ‘security’ in the region have directly resulted in insecurity for civilian populations—and most especially, for women.”

The delegation—which was organized by the Nobel Women’s Initiative in collaboration with Just Associates (JASS)—included journalists, women’s rights experts and women from the corporate sector as well as women working in the performing arts. A final report on the delegation, which will include recommendations aimed at the governments of Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, will be issued in the spring.

For more information about the delegation, as well a photos, please visit the Nobel Women’s Initiative website.

http://nobelwomensinitiative.org/2012/02/end-to-war-on-women-in-mexico-honduras-and-guatemala-nobel-laureates/?ref=17516