PANEL: Securing Justice for Women in Post-Conflict States

About the event :

UN Women and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is hosting a panel Securing justice for women in post-conflict states on Monday, 2 May 2011, 10:00–13:00, at the United Nations Headquarters.

In 2011 the Security Council and the General Assembly will consider issues relating to rule of law and transitional justice. In order to complement the forthcoming inter-governmental processes, the panel will reflect on the role played by women in transitional justice processes, focusing on experiences in Latin America, Africa and Asia, from both the perspective of victims and advocates for lasting change.

Specifically the panel will examine:

* The nature of conflict-related violations and violence experienced by women and its impact on their lives;
* Women's empowerment/participation in the peace process & post-conflict governance and the inclusion of a gender-sensitive agenda in transitional justice processes (i.e., prosecutions, SSR, truth-seeking, reparations, institutional reforms and national consultations);
* Continuing challenges/obstacles women face in their search for truth, justice and reparations and how to strengthen the role of government and civil society, particularly enhancing knowledge of the legal and policy framework to effectively engage the TJ process;
* Recommendations for reforms to the transitional justice agenda and mechanisms with a view to ensuring full and equal access to justice for women – including in the types of violations redressed, mandates, composition, and nature of the processes themselves.

Co-chairs

* Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women
* Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights

Panelists

* Ms. Yasmin Sooka, Former Commissioner, South African TRC and Sierra Leone TRC; Member of UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka
* Ms. Betty Murungi, Vice-Chair, ICC Trust Fund for Victims; Former Vice-Chair, Kenya TRC
* Mr. Barney Afako, Former Legal Advisor to the Juba Peace Talks Legal Advisor to the African Union High Level Implementation Panel on Sudan
* Ms. Dallas Mazoori, Former Member Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission's Transitional Justice Unit
* Ms. Vasuki Nesiah, Legal Scholar at NYU, human rights, humanitarian work and transitional justice
* Ms. Diana Avila Paulette, Human Rights Consultant, Peru and violence against women in conflicts in Latin America
* Ms. Lorena Balardini, Researcher at University of Buenos Aires, co-author of “Gender and Sexual Violence in the Clandestine Detentions Centers — A Contribution to the Understanding of the Argentine Experience.”