Events

For the past three years, Myanmar has been torn apart by conflict as a result of the 2021 military coup, which reignited existing ethnic conflicts and sparked wide-spread civilian and armed resistance. The coup was itself enabled by decades of impunity for military abuses and atrocities against civilians, including widespread sexual and gender-based violence.

The humanitarian situation in Myanmar is increasingly dire. UN sources estimate that more than 2.6 million people are displaced inside the country, and the humanitarian response is grossly underfunded. Local groups, especially women-led organizations, are uniquely positioned to provide critical humanitarian assistance and cross-border aid to their communities, but many lack the direct and flexible funding to be able to do so.

This meeting will be an opportunity for Member States and NGOs to hear directly from members of the Women’s League of Burma on how they can take action to protect and promote the rights of women and ethnic minorities in the context of the current crisis in Myanmar, as part of their commitments to the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Briefers will provide a gender perspective as well as their analysis of political and humanitarian developments in the region and concrete recommendations for action by the international community.

UN Member States are currently considering Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. The Draft Articles offer an opportunity to fill a critical gap in international law on mass atrocities and advance gender justice.

This workshop provided members of civil society attending the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women with an overview of the Draft Articles and a forum to exchange views on them. It convened experts in international law, including some who have co-authored legal briefs on proposals to make the draft articles gender-competent, survivor-centric, and intersectional.

Programme Overview of the Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, relationship to other relevant conventions, and the need to center victims and survivors of crimes against humanity in the process Leila Sadat, Professor, Washington University School of Law Sareta Ashraph, Consultant, Global Justice Center Naw Hser Hser, Advisory Board Member, Women’s League of Burma Opportunities to advance gender justice in the Draft Articles Akila Radhakrishnan, Strategic Legal Advisor for Gender Justice, Atlantic Council Strategic Litigation Project Dr. Melanie O’Brien, Visiting Professor, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Erin Farrell Rosenberg, Senior Legal & Policy Advisor, Mukwege Foundation Tess Graham, Legal Adviser, Global Justice Center

In collaboration with the Malala Fund and the Atlantic Council, IPI hosted a high-level panel discussion to mark International Women’s Day on March 8th. The event addressed the harrowing reality of millions of women and girls living under systematic oppression at the hands of the Taliban and highlighted the ongoing efforts of Afghan women and the international, legal, and research communities to ensure justice for these abuses—in particular, the momentum around efforts to codify the crime of gender apartheid.

The event was co-sponsored by the Global Justice Center, Rawadari, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and the Permanent Missions of Mexico and Malta.

Opening/Closing Remarks:
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Peace Institute
H.E. Vanessa Frazier, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malta to the UN
H.E. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN

Speakers:
Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Laureate
Nayera Kohistani, Afghan Activist and Expert
Penelope Andrews, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law & Director, Racial Justice Project, New York Law School
Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, Chair, UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls

Moderator:
Jomana Karadsheh, International Correspondent, CNN

Link to event agenda

Session 2: Definitions and General Obligations (Articles 2, 3, 4) Moderator

Leila Sadat (James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law, Director, Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, Washington University School of Law)

Panelists Sérgio Carvalho (Legal Adviser, Permanent Mission of Portugal to the UN) Richard Dicker (Human Rights Watch) Paloma van Groll (Legal Advisor, Global Justice Center) Patricia Sellers (Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford)

https://youtu.be/BMPEsKDoCjw?si=nnEH18GBRsAEeJlT

On December 10, the world will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which forever enshrined the rights to life, health, bodily integrity, non-discrimination, sexual and reproductive rights, and more. Just a week later, reproductive rights activists in the United States will mark 50 years since the passage of the Helms Amendment, a disastrous US foreign policy that has restricted essential abortion care and decimated health networks worldwide. All the while post-Roe v. Wade abortion bans wreak havoc across the country. Join us for a timely and compelling conversation about how the US has fallen behind and fallen down on protecting people’s human rights, particularly to abortion and bodily autonomy.

Moderator:

Sian Norris, Investigative Journalist

Speakers:

Anu Kumar, President & CEO, Ipas

Akila Radhakrishnan, President, Global Justice Center

Payal Shah, Director, Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones, Physicians for Human Rights

Jean-Claude Mulunda, Director, Ipas Democratic Republic of Congo

International Criminal Court Assembly of States Parties Side Event

Moderator

Akila Radhakrishnan, President, Global Justice Center

Speakers

Ambassador Rein Tammsaar, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Estonia - Opening Remarks  Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Niemat Ahmadi, President and Founder, Darfur Women Action Group Wai Wai Nu, Founder & Executive Director, Women’s Peace Network Fatima Mohamed Abdelaziz, Darfuri Women survivor and civil society activist Kolbassia Haoussou, Director of Survivor Empowerment, Freedom from Torture Olegs Iļģis, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Latvia – Closing remarks

International Criminal Court Assembly of States Parties Side Event

Moderator

Leila Nadya Sadat, James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law, Washington University School of Law; Director, Crimes Against Humanity Initiative; Visiting Fellow, Yale Law School

Speakers

H.E. Mr. Rein Tammsaar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations - Opening Remarks  Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Legal and Sanctions Coordinator, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations Amadou Jaiteh, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of The Gambia to the United Nations Akila Radhakrishnan, President, Global Justice Center Priya Pillai, Head, Asia Justice Coalition Secretariat H.E. Mr. Jörundur Valtýsson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Iceland to the United Nations - Closing Remarks 

Join us for a panel discussion on the new Secretary-General Guidance Note on Transitional Justice as a Strategic Tool for People, Prevention and Peace and the role of civil society organizations in strengthening transitional justice policy, including in the multilateral space.