Luz Méndez of Guatemala

Narrative	Film
"A Just Path, A Just Peace" By Peace Writer Sarah Cross	"Leading the Way to Peace" Produced by Sun & Moon Vision Productions

Biography

Luz Méndez is vice-president of the Executive Board of the National Union of Guatemalan Women (UNAMG), which works for gender equality, social justice and peacebuilding. She participated in the table of peace negotiations as part of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity’s delegation, where she dedicated special attention to the incorporation of gender equality commitments in the accords.

After the end of the war, she was a member of the National Council for the Implementation of the Peace Accords, elected by women’s organizations. She was also the coordinator of the Women Agents for Change Consortium, an alliance of women’s and human rights organizations working for the empowerment of women survivors of sexual violence during the armed conflict, seeking justice and reparations.

In the international sphere, Méndez was a speaker at the first meeting that the U.N. Security Council held with women’s organizations leading up to the passage of resolution 1325. She was also vice-chairperson of the U.N. Expert Group Meeting on Enhancing Women’s Participation in Electoral Processes in Post-Conflict Countries.

Méndez was a Woman PeaceMaker in 2004.