Sepur Zarco case: The Guatemalan women who rose for justice in a war-torn nation

Date: Friday, October 19, 2018

During the 36-year-long Guatemalan civil war, indigenous women were systematically raped and enslaved by the military in a small community near the Sepur Zarco outpost. What happened to them then was not unique, but what happened next, changed history. From 2011 – 2016, 15 women survivors fought for justice at the highest court of Guatemala. The groundbreaking case resulted in the conviction of two former military officers of crimes against humanity and granted 18 reparation measures to the women survivors and their community. The abuelas of Sepur Zarco, as the women are respectfully referred to, are now waiting to experience justice. Justice, for them, includes education for the children of their community, access to land, a health-care clinic and such measures that will end the abject poverty their community has endured across generations. Justice must be lived. More

Time to change expectations: zero retribution to zero tolerance

Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2016

In an op-ed, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says "the drugging, abduction and violent gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil calls us all to turn the tide of sexual violence against women and girls in Brazil and in every country in the world. This is Brazil’s moment to shake that confidence to its core and reassert the rule of law and its respect for human rights. This is the time for zero tolerance for violence against women and girls." More

Demanding Justice for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge

Date: Monday, June 24, 2013

As the United Nations Security Council adopts a new resolution on conflict-related sexual violence today, we detail the efforts of a UN Trust Fund-supported programme that works to ensure that sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge during the 1974-1979 genocide in Cambodia is never forgotten. More

UN Women calls for urgent and effective action against femicide

Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2013

In a statement, Acting Head of UN Women and Assistant Secretary-General Lakshmi Puri welcomes mounting global momentum to end gender-related killings and urges States to take bold and swift action to implement international agreements. More

Opening Remarks by John Hendra at the Side Event “Achieving Gender Justice: The Case for Reparations”

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013

Opening Remarks by John Hendra, Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director Policy and Programme, UN Women at the Government of Finland, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Global Action to Prevent War (GAPW) Side Event “Achieving Gender Justice: The Case for Reparations,” 7 March 2013 More

Training experts to investigate cases of sexual and gender-based violence as international crimes

Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013

To increase the pool of experts that can be rapidly deployed to participate in investigations into gender-based crimes during conflict, UN Women, Justice Rapid Response (JRR) and the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI), have jointly developed a specialized training course for judges and other experts. More