2014-09-13 17:41:00

Colombian women’s network receives 2014 UN refugee award


A Colombian women’s rights group, whose members put their lives on the line to assist survivors of forced displacement and sexual abuse, is this year’s winner of a prestigious award presented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  The volunteers of the group, Red Mariposas de Alas Nuevas Construyendo Futuro (known in English as “Butterflies” for short), are being recognized with the Nansen Refugee Award for their work in helping more than 1,000 women and their families in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main seaport.  “Each day they seek to heal the wounds of the women and children of Buenaventura and in doing so put their own lives at risk. Their bravery goes beyond words,” said High Commissioner António Guterres.

Colombia has more internally displaced people (5.7 million) than any other country except Syria, according to UNHCR, which adds that nowhere in the country is the devastation of the 50-year armed conflict felt as acutely as in Buenaventura. This industrial port city has some of the highest rates of violence and displacement due to rivalries between illegal armed groups, and women are often their targets. The groups violate women and children to demonstrate their power and frequently torture, rape or kill to exact revenge. “Butterflies’ volunteers take the displaced and abused under their wing and help them to reclaim their lives and assert their rights,” Gutteres said. 

The Nansen Refugee Award, which marks its 60th anniversary this year, will be presented to Butterflies at a ceremony in Geneva on 29 September. The award comes with a commemorative medal and a $100,000 monetary prize donated by the Governments of Norway and Switzerland to support a project of the winner’s choice.  The Nansen Refugee Award is given annually to a person or group for outstanding work on behalf of the forcibly displaced. (Source: UN)








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