In 2016-2017, the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute coordinated a transnational research project on “good practices” with a large team of volunteer researchers who produced a range of good practices case studies to be considered for inclusion in the 2017 thematic report of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice (WGDAW).
Seven cases which emerged from the research are featured in the official report, which is now available for download in all UN languages on the website of the WGDAW. Additional case studies will be made available in a series of regional reports produced by the research teams, and over the ensuing months, we will be sharing cases in a variety of formats. We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the many individuals and organizations who participated in the project or submitted case studies based on their work.
The first presentation of our findings will be at the Palais de Nations in Geneva, Friday June 9th, from 430 – 600 Geneva time, in a parallel event to the presentation of the official report to the Human Rights Council.
Join us in person if you can, or watch the live webcast on our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/LearnWHR. We are very excited to have representation from several CSOs whose work is featured in the report—see below for full details.
Join us in Geneva, as UN WGDAW Chair Alda Facio presents the 2017 thematic report on Good Practices in the Eradication of Discrimination Against Women to the Human Rights Council, June 8-9, 2017, Palais de Nations, Geneva.
Human Rights Council 35 Side Event: Good Practices in the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: key insights and case studies
Presented by:
UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice (WGDAW)
Women’s Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI)
The 160 Girls Project
Society Without Violence
Date: Friday, June 9, 2017 Time: 4:30 – 6:00
Location: Room XXV, Palais de Nations, Geneva
At the 35th session of the Human Rights Council, the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice is presenting its thematic report on “good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women and the promotion of women’s empowerment.” The report looks at the importance of a living law approach to understanding good practices in the context of the elimination of DAW, and shares case studies from an extensive research project undertaken with the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI) looking at the role of civil society and women’s autonomous organizing in the cultivation of good practices in women’s human rights.
At this session, key insights about good practices and a selection of case studies from the report will be shared. Civil society representatives from two of the key case studies, the 160 Girls Project from Kenya and Society Without Violence from Armenia, will share their work from their own contexts.
Panellists:
Alda Facio, Chair, UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice
Women’s Human Rights Education Institute Research Team Representatives:
Angela Lytle, WHRI ED
Anya Victoria, Researcher, LAC region
Meskerem Geset, Researcher, African region
Loujayn Alhokail, Researcher, MENA region
160 Girls Project, Kenya:
Mercy Chidi, ED, Ripples International
Fiona Sampson, CEO, the equality effect
Patricia Nyaundi, CEO, Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights
Society Without Violence, Armenia:
Lida Minasyan, CEO, Society Without Violence
RSVP to let us know you are coming: info@learnwhr.org
Presenter bios:
160 Girls Project
Mercy Chidi is the Founder and Executive Director of Ripples International – one of East Africa’s most successful and innovative Child Rights organizations. She spearheaded the 160 Girls project which has formally become part of legal jurisprudence around the world.
Fiona Sampson is founder and CEO of the equality effect. She is a human rights lawyer with a PhD in women’s equality law who has dedicated her 20+ year career to seeking justice for society’s disadvantaged. She led her team to the 2013 landmark victory in Kenya in which the country’s High Court found the state’s failure to protect girls from rape was unconstitutional and violated their human rights.
Patricia Nyaundi is the CEO of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). She is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over 25 years of work experience garnered from both the private and public sector. She has previously served as CEO at the Truth and Justice Commission (TJRC) and Executive Director of Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).
Society Without Violence
Lida Minasyan is the CEO of Society Without Violence, Armenia. She has an MA in human rights from the Central European University. She was recently elected as the chief of the board of the Non-discrimination and Equality Coalition in Armenia.
WHRI Research Team
Angela Lytle is the Executive Director of the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI), an organization which undertakes education, research and activism on CEDAW and women’s human rights. She is also working on her PhD in the area of transnational feminist movement building and women’s human rights. She acted as coordinator for the good practices research project.
Anya Victoria Delgado served as LAC region research coordinator for the good practices research project undertaken for the UN WGDAW. She previously acted as Snr. Protection Associate at the UNHCR and Project Assistant at the OHCHR in Mexico City, and was a fellow for the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.
Meskerem Geset Techane, Africa region research coordinator, is a jurist and human rights lawyer from Ethiopia. For the past 15 years she has worked in the legal and human rights field in various capacities at national and international level. She is a keen women’s rights advocate and expert with significant experience working with civil society, national institutions, the UN, and African Union human rights bodies.
Loujayn Alhokail, MENA region research coordinator, is a Ph.D. Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, Canada. Loujayn’s research focuses on women and the law in the Gulf region. Loujayn’s current research seeks to describe, understand, and theorize how women’s life experiences can shape their understanding of their rights.