The Challenge to Human Rights in Colombia

This book presents articles written by Cecilia Zarate-Laun over the course of forty years of dedicated work in the human rights field. Born in rural Colombia in 1945 Cecilia was the daughter of a schoolteacher and a tobacco farm owner. She showed at an early age a humanitarian concern for people suffering from the conflict between Conservative Party and Liberal Party factions in the countryside which forced Cecilia's family to leave their rural residence and relocate to the city of Bucaramanga.

Cecilia studied nutrition at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. Upon graduation, she received a scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There she met and married Jack Laun, a graduate history student and lawyer. After receiving her degree in nutritional science, Cecilia turned her attention to trying to end the conflict in Colombia. She and Jack started the Colombia Support Network and welcomed several members throughout the country. With assistance from Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, presently senator, the organization grew, and several chapters were formed nationwide. Cecilia wrote the chapters of this book as she focused her attention on communities in areas of conflict. She continued her work until cancer took her life in 2017.