Series, "Diagnosis of Gender Justice in Latin America: Where are we and where are we going? An update of the emblematic cases of sexual and gender violence in Peru, Uruguay, Guatemala, and Colombia,"
October 12 and November 23, 2021
Between October 12 and November 23, 2021, the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, along with the War Crimes Research Office and the Latin American Network for Strategic Litigation on Gender (ReLeG) co-sponsored the series, “Diagnosis of Gender Justice in Latin America: Where are we and where are we going? An update of the emblematic cases of sexual and gender violence in Peru, Uruguay, Guatemala and Colombia,” with the participation of petitioners, human rights advocates, and lawyers.
Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The Academy is constantly working to strengthen links between human rights organizations, practitioners, and educators worldwide with the aim to enhance the culture and prominence of human rights and humanitarian law around the world. For more information, visit the web page of the Academy.
War Crime Research Office (WCRO). The WCRO works to enforce and promote human rights and humanitarian law. For 25 years, the WCRO has served as a critical resource for tribunals and other organizations promoting accountability for atrocity crimes at the international, regional and domestic levels. For more information, visit the webpage of the office.
Latin American Network for Strategic Litigation on Gender (ReLeG). ReLeG is made up of committed litigants, academics, lawyers, and activists working to end gender-based violence and promote greater gender equality in the Latin American region. For more information, visit the webpage of the office.
This series of four panels (all of them in Spanish) aimed to reveal the obstacles to accessing justice and obtaining reparations, still faced by victims of sexual and gender-based violence from armed conflicts in Peru, Guatemala, and Colombia, as well as the dictatorship in Uruguay.
This initiative coincides with the United Nations campaign "16 days of activism against gender-based violence" and it is part of the Academy's efforts and the co-sponsoring organizations to give greater visibility to the impunity resulting from gender-based violence in the region. In this context, although there have been certain advances in the international jurisdiction of human rights, such as the resolution of paradigmatic cases and the elaboration of standards of interpretation on sexual and gender-based violence, most of the emblematic cases of sexual violence in Latin America are still under investigation or have not been prosecuted and its perpetrators enjoy impunity domestically.
Panel I
October 12, 2021 - Peru. "Sexual and Gender Violence Committed by the State and the Security Forces in Peru: Reflections on the Progress and Challenges of the Cases of Forced Sterilizations, Manta y Vilca, Chumbivilcas y Los Cabitos".
This panel discusses three emblematic cases from Peru in which the sexual and gender-based violence experienced by thousands of women due to a forced sterilization policy, including indigenous women who suffered these forms of violence during the armed conflict.
Speakers:
- María Ysabel Cedano Garcia, Lawyer and graduate in gender from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru.
- Gloria Cano, Executive Director of Pro Human Rights Association (APRODEH).
- Carlos Rivera, Director and Lawyer, Institute of Legal Defense (IDL).
- Claudia Martin, (Moderator) Co-director of the Academy on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL).
PANEL II
October 26, 2021 - Uruguay. "Sexual Violence and Torture of Women During the Dictatorship in Uruguay: a Debt of Justice"
This panel analyzed the evolution of gender justice in Uruguay 10 years after the criminal complaint made by a group of 28 women for rape and other torture committed against them by state agents during their illegitimate detention within the framework of the Uruguayan dictatorship.
Speakers:
- Flor de María Meza Tananta, Adj. Professor of UNESCO Human Rights, Coordinator of the Human Rights area at Unidad Académica de Extensión y Actividades en el Medio, Universidad de la República, Uruguay (UDELAR).
- María Leoni, Senior Advisor on Innovation at the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL).
- Juan Raúl Williman, Professor in Charge of the Criminal Legal Clinic, specialized in assisting crime victims at Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de la República, Uruguay (UDELAR).
- Ana Rosa Amorós Alonso Balado, Human Rights’ advocate, former political prisoner, writer. Member of the Group Denunciation of sexual violence during state terrorism and Crysol (Association of former political prisoners of Uruguay.
- Claudia Martin, (Moderator) Co-director on the Academy of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL).
*This panel was supported by the UNESCO Human Rights Chair of the University of the Republic of Uruguay.
Additional material
PANEL III
November 9, 2021 - Guatemala. “Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Conflict in Guatemala: an Update of the Pending Cases of Emma Molina Theissen, Maya Achi women, and the Mayan Ixil genocide.”
The lawyers in the cases of Emma Molina Theissen, Maya Achi Women, and Genocidio Maya Ixil offer an overview of the advances and setbacks of the causes and the current challenges that Guatemalan justice presents for victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
Speakers:
- Alejandro Rodriguez, Human Rights defender and researcher at Impunity Watch Guatemala.
- Lucia Inés Xiloj Cuin, K'iche Mayan lawyer, defender and promoter of collective rights of indigenous peoples and women
- Mynor Melgar, Director of transitional justice cases, Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala
- Susana SaCouto, (Moderator) Director of the War Crimes Research Office (WCRO) at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL)
Additional material:
PANEL IV
November 23, 2021 - Colombia. "The Judicialization of Sexual and Gender Violence in the Framework of the Colombian Conflict: Evaluating the Progress and Challenges Five Years After the Peace Agreement ".
Commemorating 5 years of the peace agreement in Colombia, the speakers took stock of the progress and current challenges they face in prosecuting cases of sexual and gender-based violence resulting from the armed conflict in that country. Among a variety of topics, the panel addressed the importance of the existing nexus between gender violence and armed conflict, the problems that arise from intra-row gender violence and the crime of persecution with respect to the LGBTQ+ population were addressed.
Speakers:
- Dalila Seoane, Lawyer specialized in gender and international criminal law
- Mariana Ardila, Lawyer at Women’s Link Worldwide
- Adriana Benjumea, Director of Corporación Humanas, Colombia
- Daniela Kravetz, (Moderator) Lawyer specialized in international criminal justice and gender
Additional material: