AVON Center 2010 Women and Justice Conference
Gender-Based Violence and Justice in Conflict and Post-Conflict Areas
March 12, 2010
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
In coordination with the Cornell International Law Journal, the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice brought together over 175 participants, including judges (from international tribunals and national courts), scholars, policymakers and practitioners to discuss advances and obstacles to securing justice for women and girls in conflict and post-conflict areas. The Conference featured four distinguished expert panel discussions and a keynote address by Rashida Manjoo, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Select papers by conference participants are published in a special issue of the Cornell International Law Journal.
Scroll down for conference videos and audios
Opening Remarks & Panel 1: Progress and Gaps in International Law in Securing Justice for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence During Conflict. Watch video. Listen to audio.
- Moderator: Hon. Joanna Seybert (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York)
- H.E. Judge Joyce Aluoch (International Criminal Court)
- Judge Dennis Byron (President, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda)
- Muna Ndulo (Professor, Cornell Law School and Director, Institute for African Development)
- Valerie Oosterveld (Professor, University of Western Ontario)
- Patricia Viseur Sellers (Visiting Fellow, Kellogg College, University of Oxford)
Panel 2: National Initiatives and Training Innovations to Address Gender Justice and Gender-Based Violence. Watch video. Listen to audio.
- Moderator: Hon. Ann Williams (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit)
- Justice Elena Highton-Nolasco (Vice President, Supreme Court, Argentina)
- Joseph Kamara (Deputy Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone; President, Sierra Leone Bar Association)
- Judge Virginia Kendall (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois)
- Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane (Supreme Court, Sri Lanka)
- Chief Justice Georgina Wood (Supreme Court, Ghana)
Panel 3: Broadening the Concept of “Justice” for Women and Girl-Survivors of Conflict Violence. Watch video. Listen to audio.
- Moderator: Erica Steinberger (Partner (ret.), Latham & Watkins, LLP)
- Dr. Kelly Askin (Senior Legal Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative)
- Fatou Bensouda (Deputy Prosecutor, International Criminal Court)
- Anita Bernstein (Professor, Brooklyn Law School)
- Dr. Ebrahim Elahi (Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai Medical Center; Director, Fifth Avenue Eye Associates; Director, International Affairs, Virtue Foundation)
- Dr. Denis Mukwege (Founder and Director, Panzi Hospital, DRC)
Panel 4: International Courts: The Judicial Experience. Watch video. Listen to audio.
- Moderator: Hon. Barbara Rothstein (U.S. District Court for the Western District Washington; Director, Federal Judicial Center)
- Justice Shireen Fisher (Special Court for Sierra Leone)
- Hon. Justice Florence Mumba (Chair, Electoral Commission, Zambia; Judge, Extraordinary Chambers for Courts of Cambodia)
- Judge Carolyn Temin (Court of Common Pleas of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania)
- Judge Inés Weinberg de Roca (Argentina, UN Tribunal)
- Judge Patricia Whalen (War Crimes Chamber, State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Keynote Address by Rashida Manjoo, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. Watch video. Listen to audio.
- Introduction: Barbara Holden-Smith (Vice-Dean and Professor, Cornell Law School)
This conference was made by possible by a grant from Avon Foundation for Women, and additional support from Virtue Foundation, the Berger International Legal Studies Program, Cornell Law School and BarBri. The Avon Global Center gratefully acknowledges this generous support.