IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 465 
Commending the efforts of women in the Republic of Colombia to promote 
peace. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2004 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. HONDA) submitted 
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Commending the efforts of women in the Republic of 
Colombia to promote peace. 
Whereas women comprise 51 percent of the population of the 
Republic of Colombia; 
Whereas women represent the majority of the 2.5 million in-
ternally displaced persons (IDPs) in Colombia, and 
women head more than 30 percent of IDP households; 
Whereas armed actors have threatened and assassinated lead-
ers of organizations working for peace, human rights, 
and stability in Colombia; 
Whereas sexual violence and other forms of abuse have been 
used as weapons of war against women in Colombia;
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Whereas women in Colombia are taking leadership roles for 
peace at the local level, establishing informal agreements 
with armed actors, and forming ‘‘peace zones’’ to protect 
their communities; 
Whereas women in Colombia represent diverse political par-
ties and views, and are involved in governmental and 
nongovernmental leadership positions at the municipal, 
departmental, and national level; 
Whereas women throughout Colombia are leading demands 
for an end to violence and a return to dialogue and nego-
tiation; 
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 
(2000) mandates the participation of women in peace 
processes and the representation of women at all deci-
sionmaking levels for the prevention, management, and 
resolution of conflict; and 
Whereas paragraph 2(h) of the Declaration of the Special 
Conference on Security (2003) issued by the Organiza-
tion of American States reaffirms the need to increase 
the decisionmaking roles of women in conflict prevention, 
management, and resolution, and to integrate a gender 
perspective in matters of hemispheric security: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) commends the efforts by women and civil 
society in the Republic of Colombia to mitigate vio-
lence in their communities, to advocate for a nego-
tiated solution to conflict, and to develop a common 
agenda for peace;
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(2) reaffirms the importance of including the 
expertise, knowledge, and experiences of women in 
Colombia in formal and informal peace dialogues, 
negotiations, and in decisionmaking roles to resolve 
conflict and promote peace and security in Colombia, 
including the participation of women as planners, 
implementers, and beneficiaries of disarmament, de-
mobilization, and reintegration programs and secu-
rity policies in Colombia; 
(3) supports the protection of women and their 
organizations and the defense of fundamental 
human rights in Colombia; and 
(4) calls on the Department of State, including 
United States Agency for International Develop-
ment, the Department of Defense, and other appro-
priate Federal departments and agencies to inte-
grate a gender perspective in United States policies, 
programs, and activities regarding the situation in 
Colombia and to support through funding, training, 
networking opportunities, and other activities the ef-
forts by women in Colombia to promote peace, re-
spect for human rights, and an end to conflict and 
violence in Colombia. 
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