Leila Ghahhary attended the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York last week, participating in a series of international discussions on gender equality, access to justice, and accountability for atrocity crimes. Leila attended the session on behalf of Yazda, the global Yazidi advocacy organisation.
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is the UN’s principal global forum dedicated to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. The annual session brings together governments, international organisations, civil society, legal and policy experts to address legal, policy and institutional challenges relating to women’s rights worldwide.
During the week, Leila participated in a number of events addressing issues relating to access to justice, gender equality and accountability, including:
- The New York City Bar Association’s Sixth International Law Conference on the Status of Women, held in celebration of the International Day of Women Judges
- The Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women Parliamentary Meeting on “The Role of Parliaments in Achieving Parity in Decision-Making and Ensuring Gender-Responsive Access to Justice for Women and Girls”
- “Advancing Women’s Access to Justice: Building Justice Systems that Deliver for All, Including in Fragile Contexts,” organised by UNDP and UN Women in partnership with the Governments of Brazil, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- “Integrating an Intersectional Lens into Accountability Work: A New Practical Tool,” co-hosted by the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations, UN Women, and Justice Rapid Response.
As part of CSW70, Leila moderated a panel discussion at the side event “Justice Beyond UNITAD: Advancing Access to Justice for Yazidi Women and Girls.” The event brought together policymakers, legal experts and civil society representatives to examine ongoing challenges in securing accountability for crimes committed against the Yazidi community following the closure of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh/ISIL (UNITAD).
The panel featured contributions from Baroness Hodgson, Member of the UK House of Lords and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security; Professor Rhonda Dwork, Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the CUNY Graduate Center; Dr Ewelina Ochab, Senior Lawyer at the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response; Mediha, Yazidi survivor advocate and award winning film maker; Natia Navrouzov, Executive Director of Yazda; Emily Kenny, Rule of Law and Transitional Justice Specialist at UN Women; and Amira Rajasingham, Research and Advocacy Officer at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
The discussion highlighted ongoing challenges in advancing justice for Yazidi survivors, including the need to ensure continued access to evidence collected by international investigative mechanisms and to strengthen accountability for crimes committed against Yazidi women and girls.
The event was co-sponsored by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Coalition for Genocide Response, and hosted by CUNY’s Graduate Center, the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, and the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity.
Participation in CSW70 forms part of Ghahhary Thomas LLP’s continued engagement with international efforts to advance public international law, human rights, accountability, and the rule of law.
