Women's Human Rights Resources Database

This database lists hundreds of resources -- articles, documents and links -- related to international women's rights law and Canadian women's rights law. Annotations describe the content of each resource. Users can search by keyword and author as well as browse by women's rights topic. Full-text documents or links to full-text documents are provided where available.
Search Results for content type Link categorized with Armed Conflict
Coalition for an International Criminal Court , Coalition for an International Criminal Court
The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) is a network of over 2,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court (ICC). Although this site does not provide information that focuses specifically on women's human rights, it is a useful source of general background information on the ICC. It includes the signature and ratification status of the Rome Statute, a chronology of the ICC, a brief description of the ICC, and a list of upcoming events related to the ICC. The site also has a pressroom with a full press kit and recent press releases; an on-line newsletter called Monitor, which highlights recent ICC developments; a Rome section providing information on the Rome Treaty Conference; and links to relevant documents from the UN, national governments, and non-governmental organisations. Some of the information provided by this site is also available in French and Spanish.
http://www.iccnow.org

 
Coalition for International Justice , Coalition for International Justice
The Coalition for International Justice (CIJ) is an international, non-profit organization working to support the international war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. CIJ provides support through advocacy, fundraising, working with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and by providing technical legal assistance. While this site does not have a gender focus, it is a useful site for those interested in humanitarian law as it provides up-to-date information and news on the International Tribunals for Rwanda and the former-Yugoslavia in addition to other developments, such as the establishment of tribunals for Cambodia and Sierra Leone.
http://www.cij.org/

 
Famous Cases: The Bosnia War Crimes Tribunal , Court TV Online
This site provides information on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Included among the materials available on this site are weekly trial reports, background information on the Balkan conflict and the operations of the ICTY, as well as indictments and other tribunal documents. The site also provides information on the Nuremberg trials and select transcripts from the proceedings. The site does not specifically have a gender-focus, but is included here because it does provide a significant amount of information on international criminal proceedings, many of which now involve elements of sexual violence against women during armed conflict.
http://www.courttv.com/casefiles/warcrimes/

 
Canada and the International Criminal Court - Gender and the ICC , Foreign Affairs Canada
These pages of Canada's Foreign Affairs website outline the key gender provisions in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and provide information on the International Criminal Court more generally and Canada's relationship to it. The information describes how the Rome Statute represents an important advance in the prosecution of crimes of sexual violence and gender-based crimes during armed conflict more generally, both of which have traditionally been under-investigated and under-prosecuted. [Descriptors: Armed Conflict, Canada]
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/foreign_policy/icc/gender_icc-en.asp

 
Women, Peace & Security , Foreign Affairs Canada
Women, Peace & Security forms part of the International Women's Equality section of Canada's Foreign Affairs website. These pages outline Canada's policy on gender and its commitment to promoting and protecting women's rights in situations of armed conflict. Canada's efforts have primarily focused on integrating a gender-sensitive approach to peace building and human security efforts within the major regional and international organizations. In addition to providing information on Canadian efforts in the field of women, peace and security, this section of the Foreign Affairs website also has links to United Nations and NGO initiatives and information on Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security. [Descriptors: Armed Conflict, Canada]
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/foreign_policy/human-rights/women_peace-en.asp

 
Human Rights Watch - Women's Rights - Women and Armed Conflict; International Justice , Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an independent non-governmental organization based in the United States that conducts fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world. The site has a dedicated Women's Rights section through which HRW's thematic issues can be accessed. The "Women and Armed Conflict; International Justice" section of the site provides background information on women's experiences during armed conflict as well as country-specific information on sexual and other physical violence, rape and harassment suffered by women during armed conflict in various regions of the world. The site also provides a link to current HRW work on the topic of Women and armed conflict and international justice.
http://www.hrw.org/topic/womens-rights

 
International Committee of the Red Cross - Humanitarian Law - Women and War , International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization founded in 1863. The ICRC has a legal mandate from the international community that is grounded in the Geneva Conventions and the ICRC's own statutes. The organization's objectives are exclusively humanitarian and aim to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence. The ICRC website contains sections dedicated to Women and War (covering the specific dangers and suffering confronting women in wartime) and Women and War and International Humanitarian Law (on the protection accorded specifically to women by humanitarian law.) Both sections provide a wealth of information on the topic of women and armed conflict including links to key documents; ICRC publications; the International Review of the Red Cross; Official Statements of the ICRC; Fact sheets; Reports and Field Reports; Audio-visual sources; and links to other sites of interest.
http://www.icrc.org/eng

 
Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations , Rights & Democracy
The mandate of the "Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations" is to promote the adequate prosecution of perpetrators of crimes of gender violence in transitional justice systems based in Africa. The intention is that through creating precedents that recognise violence against women in conflict situations this will forge a path towards obtaining justice for women survivors of sexual violence. This site contains information on the work of Coalition members at both the local and international levels and advocacy dossiers for the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), and the Special Court and Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone.
http://www.peacewomen.org/portal_organizations_organization.php

 
WomenWarPeace.org , UNIFEM
WomenWarPeace.org is a United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) portal on women, peace and security. Women's protection in armed conflict and their centrality to conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace building is a primary concern for UNIFEM. UNIFEM works with national governments, UN bodies and other international and national organizations and NGOs to assist women in conflict situations and supporte their participation in peace processes. This portal provides information on the different conflict zones throughout the world and current UNIFEM and UN operations, along with links to UNIFEM publications on women and armed conflict.
http://www.womenwarpeace.org/

 
International Criminal Court , United Nations
The first ever permanent international criminal court (ICC) was established by multilateral treaty in Rome in July 1998. The Statute entered into force July 1, 2002. The ICC was established to try individuals for the most serious offences of global concern, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This site contains the essential documents relating to the establishment of the ICC, including the Rome Statute, General Assembly resolutions and Preparatory Commission documents. In addition the site contains press releases, ratification information, and background information on the ICC.
http://www.icc-cpi.int

 
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , United Nations
This is the official web site of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The tribunal was established in 1994 by UN Security Council Resolution to prosecute those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda. It contains the basic documents of the Tribunal (i.e. Statute and Rules of Procedure and Evidence), some case summaries, and full-text decisions of the Tribunal. Of particular interest to WHRR users will be the case of Prosecutor v. Jean-Paul Akayesu. Akayesu was sentenced to 80 years for violations including rape and encouraging widespread sexual violence. The site is available in both English and French.
http://www.ictr.org/

 
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia , United Nations
This is the official site of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former-Yugoslavia (ICTY). The tribunal was established in 1993 by UN Security Council Resoution to prosecute those responsible for the crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in the former-Yugoslavia. The site includes basic legal documents of the Tribunal (i.e. Statute, Rules of Procedure & Evidence), lists of indictments, judgements, cases summaries and press releases. Of particular interest to WHRR users seeking resources on women and armed conflict is the December 1998 decision of Prosecutor v. Anto Furundzija, which analyses the prohibition on torture and the prohibition on rape and other serious sexual assaults at international law.
http://www.un.org/icty/

 
Special Court for Sierra Leone , United Nations
This is the official web site of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). This hybrid court was set up jointly by an agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and th United Nations signed in January 2000. The SCSL is mandated to apply principles of international and Sierra Leonean law and to try individuals indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. Of particular interest to WHRR users is the emerging jurisprudence on sexual violence and sexual slavery, including the new count of "forced marriage". The site contains the basic documents of the Court (i.e. the agreement, Statute, Rules of Procedure and Evidence), cases and case summaries, press releases and information on the composition and functions of the Court.
http://www.sc-sl.org

 
Office of Gender Affairs , United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Office of Gender Affairs (OGA) in the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) was established to incorporate a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations and when implementing peace agreements, as per the mandate set out in Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000). The objective of the OGA is to foster gender awareness in MONUC and increase women's participation in political life and the peace process in the DRC. Gender mainstreaming, training, research and disaggregated data collection, networking and public outreach are all employed to achieve these ends.
http://www.monuc.org/Gender/

 
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was established in 1998 following the Secretary-General's programme of reform for the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs. Its mandate is to respond to complex emergencies and humanitarian disasters, and to coordinate humanitarian responses, policy development and humanitarian advocacy. The "Humanitarian Issues" branch of the OCHA website contains information specifically on Women and War and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. These sections address the key challenges faced by the UN and the international community in relation to the protection of women in times of humanitarian need and armed conflict, and with regard to the protocols governing UN missions and the conduct of its personnel. Links to other relevant UN documents and sites are also included along with additional websites of interest.
http://ochaonline.un.org

 
The Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery , Violence Against Women in War - Network Japan
This web page focuses on the Tokyo Tribunal and public hearing which took place From December 7 to 12, 2000. It contains information, documents and photographs from the event which focused on the issue of Japan's treatment of "comfort women", women forced into sexual slavery during the Second World War, and on-going crimes against women in situations of conflict and war. The site is posted in both Japanese and English.
http://www1.jca.apc.org/vaww-net-japan/english/

 
Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice (formerly "Women's Caucus for Gender Justice") , Women's Caucus For Gender Justice
Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice (formerly "Women's Caucus for Gender Justice") is a network of individuals and groups committed to strengthening women's access to justice and international recognition of the need for gender justice through, amongst other mechanisms, the International Criminal Court (ICC). This site provides information on the impact the ICC is set to have on achieving justice for gendered crimes committed against women and the part the Women's Caucus played in securing gender recognition in the crimes to be prosecuted under the ICC Statute. The site also provides information on the role women will play in the emerging international criminal justice process.
http://www.iccwomen.org/

 
Tokyo Tribunal 2000 & Public Hearing on Crimes Against Women , Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice
In December 2000, the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery was convened through the efforts of non-governmental organizations throughout Asia to ensure some form of accountability for the aging former 'comfort women,' those women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. This massive system of enslavement had gone unpunished for more than 50 years. The public hearing included testimonies of women from different regions of the world, including Algeria, Guatemala, Rwanda, and East Timor among others. This page includes coverage of this historic event and a summary of the findings of the Tribunal. One year later, the "people's tribunal" reconvened to release the full judgment at a special ceremony which was conducted in The Hague, the Netherlands.
http://www.iccwomen.org/wigjdraft1/Archives/oldWCGJ/tokyo/press1.htm

 
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security , Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
The original mandate of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG) was to advocate for a UN Security Council Resolution on women, peace and security. This was achieved on October 31, 2000 with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325. The mandate of the NGOWG has now shifted to advocating for and monitoring the participation of women, the prevention of conflict and the protection of all civilians, along with ensuring the full and rapid implementation of the promises encompassed in Security Council Resolution 1325.
http://www.peacewomen.org/un/ngo/wg.html

 
PeaceWomen , Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
PeaceWomen is a project of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The PeaceWomen Project monitors and works toward rapid and full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. The site provides information on Security Council Resolution 1325 along with links to the websites of the other members of the Women, Peace and Security NGO Web Ring.
http://www.peacewomen.org/wpsindex.html

 
Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace , Women, Peace and Security Web Ring
"Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace" is an initiative of the Hunt Alternatives Fund and a member of the Women, Peace and Security Web Ring. The initiative advocates for the full participation of all stakeholders (especially women) in formal and informal peace processes around the world. The website outlines why women play - and should play - a vital role in peace building. The website also addresses the themes of conflict prevention, peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction along with providing information on the various countries and conflict zones in the world.
http://www.inclusivesecurity.org/explore-resources/women-waging-peace-network/