Colombia
“Signing the 2016 Peace Agreement was the greatest act of hope in my life. Despite the obstacles we have suffered from those who have profited from the war, I remain convinced that it will always be better to bet on peace.”
Victoria Sandino Simanca Herrera is a Feminist leader, former Senator to the Republic of Colombia & ex-guerrillera commander from the FARC-EP. In this moving PeaceTalk, Victoria shares her story from being part of the FARC-EP insurgency for 24 years, to becoming a negotiator at the talks table and signatory of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement to the work she does today.
Victoria Sandino Simanca Herrera, belonged to the FARC-EP insurgency for 24 years, was a negotiator at the talks table and signatory of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the former FARC-EP., coordinator of the gender subcommission that incorporated the approach in the same Agreement. Senator of the Republic in the period 2018-2022, in 2023 she worked in the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace of Colombia with guidelines for the differential and gender perspective in total peace talks. She is a black woman, social leader, feminist, human rights defender, and supports peasant communities, ethnic peoples and women in peace building in the territories. She is a journalist, sociologist, Master in Equality and Equity in Development and is studying a Master in Conflict Resolution and Mediation (2024).