“We have to build feminist foreign policy day by day”: Chilean ambassador to Colombia

In 2023, María Inés Ruz Zañartu became Chile’s ambassador to Colombia, the first woman to hold this position in more than 200 years of diplomatic relations between both countries.

In interview with The viewer, Ambassador Ruz presented the challenges and proposals of Chile’s feminist foreign policy and the work plans with Colombia. Some of the collective work topics are framed in the implementation of the Resolution 1325 of 2000 of the United Nations on Women, Peace and Security.

“Feminist foreign policy is not written down in a decalogue, we have to build it day by day. Based on the experiences, trajectories and reflection of our own practices, of being women who have fought for social well-being, for the rights of women, minorities, the disabled and indigenous peoples,” said the ambassador.

Relations between these two countries have also been consolidated in terms of peace, since the signing of the Peace Agreement with the extinct FARC-EP in 2016, where Chile was the guarantor country. Currently, he has the same role in the peace talks with the guerrillas of the Liberation Army (ELN). For the ambassador, “the peace of Colombia is the peace of Latin America” and between the two countries there is much to learn in their journeys and experiences working for gender equality and the role of women in peacebuilding.

What are the main challenges in gender equality in Chile?

Chile is not a different country from the others in Latin America, as we are facing serious problems of feminicide and domestic violence. We have a wide field to advance in terms of the recognition of the rights of the population in general, the rights of young people, the disabled, children and women.

What are the main bets on gender equality in Chile?

Chile has some advances in public policy, but large deficits regarding the incorporation of women at management levels and in the definition of policies. However, President Boric’s government has a defined agenda and program to integrate gender parity. The first joint cabinet was incorporated and we are applying this principle in the election of public positions, in the appointment of positions in the Executive and the Law of Parties also incorporates this paradigm. For this embassy it is important to advance the issues of Resolution 1325 and advance the empowerment of women.

How is Chile’s feminist foreign policy advancing?

The issue of feminist foreign policy is a paradigm under construction and it coincides that the two countries, Chile and Colombia, are making progress in the construction of this policy. It not only consists of women being present in the definition of public policies, in international positions or in positions of responsibility within the Foreign Ministry, but it implies looking from the vision of women, from our culture of care in which We have been trained since early childhood.

In Chile we have made progress in the Undersecretariat of Foreign Relations, headed by Gloria de la Fuente González, and in having instructions on how to deal with cases of violence that arise in consulates. Before we had not visualized these aspects and had gender lenses when cases of violence occur against people who come to the consulates to ask for help and attention.

We are also preparing the third National Action Plan for Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Although the first National Action Plan is being developed here in Colombia, we consider that we have a lot to learn from Colombia, because it has had an internal conflict and has developed mechanisms for dialogue and participation of women.

In the case of Resolution 1325, a methodology has been deployed that involves the incorporation of women’s groups in each of the territories. It is important to reflect on our practices in order to provide new knowledge and build this foreign policy in that sense.

How has the diversity of populations been integrated into feminist foreign policy?

I am very critical of what we have done and I recognize that we have been advancing hand in hand with multilateralism. People see foreign policy as something super distant and it turns out that it has to do with everything we do daily, with our rights, the economy, the impacts of the environment, the rights of indigenous communities. I would tell you that Chile, if it were not for the progress at the multilateral level, for the human rights conventions we have had at the multilateral and regional level, we would not have incorporated the environment into our political legislation, for example.

The study of the indigenous language has begun to be incorporated into schools, mainly in the Araucanía region, where the Mapuche people are found. We still have a long way to go in recognizing rights and achieving the paradigm of a social welfare State.

In what way can Chile’s experience contribute to the process that Colombia recently began with its feminist foreign policy?

Chile has experience in incorporating gender in free trade agreements and we hope to share it with Colombia. The first free trade agreement that incorporated this vision was the one we signed with Canada and an incentive was that Canada already had progress on the issue. This approach led us to think about how agreements impact the lives of people who are going to work in the economic or commercial sphere or even those who are going to receive the benefits of the agreement.

A clear example of this is that we export fruit, it is one of the areas in which Chile has had competitive advantages in international markets. So, with this vision, we ask ourselves: who collects the cherry, a star product of Chile? Women. Where do these women come from? Many migrants. What conditions are these women living in? Where do they leave their children? How many hours of work do they have? What are the toilet services they use? Are there decent living conditions? We are just starting out and these women’s realities are quantified and taken into account to take special measures.

In the economic empowerment of women, between Chile and Colombia we have a very important field to advance, both in the incorporation of the gender perspective in free trade agreements and in specific policies to stimulate and promote women’s small businesses. . We have a line of encouragement and support for the economic insertion of women, especially those who have small and medium-sized businesses, so that they begin to export their products.

This year, Colombia was designated the headquarters of the Resolution 1325 Women, Peace and Security Center of Excellence for the entire region. How do you feel about this decision?

Colombia has the particularity that its conflict has been internal and that women have been a fundamental actor due to the resilience they have had and being the ones who have received the most impact. Colombia has much to contribute in the experience of dialogue and organization, and of specific policies to apply Resolution 1325.

Is there any work plan between Chile and Colombia in relation to the implementation of Resolution 1325? If so, which one?

We hope to soon sign between Chile and Colombia an agreement on good practices in the field of feminist foreign policy. Just a few weeks ago, we met with Deputy Minister Elizabeth Taylor Jay and addressed this issue. We agreed to have an opportunity to exchange experience.

We have had a vision of Resolution 1325 to advance the security of women, by incorporating them into the Armed Forces and peace missions. Also in the implementation of the National Action Plans of Resolution 1325. We hope that our Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Gloria de la Fuente González, can meet with Vice Minister Taylor to set a date and exchange experiences between both teams.

At the migration level we also have a project, through German cooperation, involving Mexico, Colombia and Chile, to make a proposal that has to do with the exchange of foreign policy and migration experiences. What does Chile’s support for Colombia represent on peace issues?

Compliance with the 2016 Peace Agreement has great international recognition, it is a very important reference for the negotiations with other groups. We consider that the peace of Colombia is the peace of Latin America and its strategic location, its rich diversity and its political history are very important for our entire region.

A few weeks ago, a group of Mapuche women from the Chilean Araucanía region visited Colombia and met with indigenous leaders from Cauca. How did this visit conclude?

The first conclusion is that the realities of women, thousands of kilometers away, are similar as they carry on their shoulders the intersectionality that it means to be a woman, indigenous and poor. When they went to Popayán they realized that they had a common language because they were talking about situations of poverty, discrimination as women and as indigenous people, they were talking about rights and unsatisfied basic needs.

We would not have been able to do this visit without the support of the Chilean and Colombian foreign ministries, the United Nations Verification Mission and UN Women. We also received help from the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which received the delegation with two judges of ethnic origin. In this way, we are fulfilling Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 on partnerships.

It was also concluded that we have to learn a lot from Colombia, because it has constitutional recognition for indigenous peoples that we do not have in Chile. As well as a recognition of their form of organization and their territory and we are still far from that. Colombia is a reference for Chile and I hope that the peace efforts that we are making from the Special and Presidential Commission that we are doing in Araucanía can be nourished by these learnings.

How can the gender and peace agenda be strengthened in the region?

Creating alliances and strengthening those that already exist so that we can produce an exchange in the field of rights. Specifically with Colombia, the exchange of the role of women in dialogue and peacebuilding.

For example, the delegation that came from Chile are leaders who are very clear about the need to build peace in the territory, because without peace there is no development. Although we have an understanding of the origin of violence, we also have the absolute certainty that if we do not build channels of dialogue, we do not sit face to face, we do not listen to each other or try to collect the pain of the other, we will not be able to solve the problem of violence. Araucanía in Chile, nor are we going to be able to build peace there or here. I hope that the efforts being made by governments can be nourished by the learning from the exchange of experiences between countries.

We hope that each of the actors who have been involved have as their ultimate and sole goal to advance in the construction of peace in Araucanía and in the construction of peace here in Colombia.