Human Security: The Missing Link Between Women's Rights, Conflict, and Peace, CSW57

WLP and The New School's Center for Public Scholarship and Gender Studies Program will present a panel discussion and documentary film screening of WLP's new film, Because Our Cause is Just on the post-Arab Spring backlash against women’s rights and the targeting of women’s rights defenders in the Middle East/North Africa, developments that have serious implications for establishing true democracies in the region. 

This event will be held in conjunction with the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), New York, NY.

Gender-based violence is the most pervasive human rights violation on earth, present in every country, every culture, every religion, every class. From violence in the private sphere to rape used as a weapon of war, violence against women is intimately linked to violence across society. Moreover, those at the forefront of fields ranging from economic development to counterterrorism are recognizing that global prosperity, peace, and security cannot be realized in the absence of women’s rights.

Today, there is a growing consensus that when combating domestic violence, advancing peace and conflict resolution, or confronting violent extremism, the way to achieve these ends is through a framework that puts human security at the fore. Given the major political transitions, resurgent extremism, and violent conflicts affecting large portions of the world, a serious examination of the importance of advancing human security to meet these most pressing challenges is urgently needed.

During this year’s Commission on the Status of Women, Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) will convene leaders from across the globe to discuss why human security is central to confronting this century’s challenges – from ending gender-based violence to achieving international peace.

In addition to WLP representatives, the following individuals contribute:

Alexandra Delano (U.S.) - Acting Chair of Global Studies, The New School

Brigid Inder (New Zealand) - Executive Director, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice

Madeleine Rees (United Kingdom/Switzerland) - Secretary General, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Zainab Hawa Bangura (Sierra Leone) - UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict

Farah Karimi (Iran/The Netherlands) - Executive Director, Oxfam Novib

Farida Naqash (Egypt) - Chairperson, Forum for Women in Development