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Progress for Women Is Progress for All

Briefing for parliamentarians on justice for women in Iraq and Burma - February 2008

On 21 February UNIFEM UK, in collaboration with the Global Justice Center and International Coordination for Gender and Justice in Iraq, hosted a workshop and briefing for UK parliamentarians at Westminster. The event was organised to provide up to date information on activities which aim to ensure better access to justice for women in Iraq and Burma. Guest speakers included Professor Janet Benshoof, President of the New York based Global Justice Center, and Aung Htoo, General Secretary of the Burma Lawyers’ Council.

The workshop and briefing were chaired by UNIFEM UK President Zarin Hainsworth and involved representatives from a number of support groups working with Iraqi and Burmese women activists. The focus was on criminal accountability for perpetrators of injustice and violence against women - crimes including torture, rape, sexual slavery, murder, and disappearances. The international community has a critical role in ensuring the advance of the rule of law based on gender equality but what is the best way of making real progress?

The meeting heard first-hand accounts about the experience of the Global Justice Center in training judges from the Iraq High Tribunal on gender and international law. The IHT is a special court set up to prosecute crimes committed under the Saddam Hussein regime and it has been prepared to reach out to women victims. In a landmark decision last year following the trial of six defendants charged with genocide and war crimes committed against Iraqi Kurds, the IHT judges designated rape as a form of torture. International Coordination for Gender Justice in Iraq, a broad-based coalition, is working to encourage further advances in the way gender crimes are tried through the application of international law, such as Security Council Resolution 1325 on the rights of women in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Aung Htoo spoke about crimes against women in Burma over the last twenty years and called for an end to impunity for those responsible. Burmese women cannot rely on legal protection because very few cases are won in court, witnesses are often afraid to help, existing laws may be ignored and the judiciary is weak. The current military regime has become more confident, with support from China and India, and less likely to respond to pressure from outside. Many women activists are in hiding or in prison. The UN General Assembly has passed resolutions and a series of UN envoys have been sent to Burma but this has not led to change. The Global Justice Center and the Burma Lawyers’ Council are campaigning for direct action to be taken by the UN Security Council to hold the military commanders criminally accountable under international law. They also work together to offer training in legal matters to Burmese women and to raise awareness of international rights.

Janet Benshoof talked of a growing consensus in the international community that advances can be made in countries such as Burma through prosecution of state leaders under international law. She believes that criminal accountability is key to ending conflict and creating stability, as well as laying the foundation for rule of law and democracy. The legal tools are there, including Security Council Resolution 1325, and can be more effective than trying to pursue injustices against women as human rights violations. Systematic collection of data by lawyers and NGOs is crucial so that pressure can be put on the UN Security Council to take action on the basis of credible reports.

Since the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002, the Security Council has become more active in referring abuses against women in the context of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Sovereignty is not a cover for impunity and the Security Council has the authority to initiate action even if the country concerned is not a member of the ICC.

Following the briefings Zarin Hainsworth, Janet Benshoof and Aung Htoo had a meeting with the Attorney General, Lady Scotland, to take forward the comments made by attendees and to press the case for criminal accountability for those who perpetrate injustices against women.

For more information on the Global Justice Center campaigns and its partnerships with women’s organisations in Iraq, Burma and elsewhere, go to www.globaljusticecenter.net

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