Paz y seguridad

(English) Saran Keïta Diakité is a lawyer in Mali and President of the Malian branch of the NGO Working Group on Women Peace and Security (Réseau Paix et Sécurité des Femmes de l’Espace CEDEAO). As the Donor Conference on Mali starts in Brussels, in her own words she speaks about the atrocities occurring in her country, which has been plagued by political instability and the proliferation of armed groups that have uprooted more than 415,000 people since a military coup d’état in March 2012. She also talks about the work of her NGO, supported by UN Women, to assist survivors of violence, provide access to justice, and to ensure women have a say in peace negotiations. She was one of four female mediators who took part in peace negotiations from 15-17 April 2012 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Saran also recently spoke in April 2013 at the UN Security Council’s Open Debate on conflict-related sexual violence in New York.