COLUMBIA JOURNAL OF TRANSNATIONAL LAW

This article discusses the incontrovertible and overwhelming evidence of sexual violence in the majority of armed conflicts today. The article also notes however that women are increasingly playing a role in wartime violence. The author identifies that there is a real need to include women at all levels of peace-making and peace-building if a lasting peace and climate of reconciliation is to be achieved.

This article compares the ways in which forced marriage is perceived as persecution under the domestic asylum laws of in the United Kingdom, Spain, and France. The article argues that forced marriage should be uniformly recognized as persecution in asylum law, and that the lack of such systematic recognition across UK, Spain and France leads to arbitrary and inconsistent adjudication of asylum claims by forced marriage victims, despite attempts to make such laws uniform through the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). The article ultimately advocates for the

The author advocates adopting a contextual approach to assessing the legality under International law of restrictions on wearing Muslim headscarves and veils in public educational institutions. Taking a secularist approach to women's human rights, the author argues that the European Court of Human Rights ruled correctly in Leyla Sahin v Turkey (2004) when it upheld Istanbul University's ban on headscarves. Bennoune summarizes the background and reasoning in Sahin, and responds to NGO criticisms of the decision. Considering the conflict between

This article begins with a description of female genital mutilation (FGM) practices and an examination of the international human rights provisions that may be invoked to protect individuals opposed to FGM. The rest of the article provides a guide on how United States adjudicators should determine asylum claims involving FGM. The international protection guidelines issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees serve as a basis for this guide. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Reproductive Rights - Female Genital Cutting, International]

This article examines the significance of the Optional Protocol in securing the human rights of women. It starts by looking at the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Women's Convention) and the rights secured by it. The author then turns to the articles of the Optional Protocol and examines these provisions whilst comparing them to the existing individual complaints procedures used by the other major treaty bodies.