Welcome to IAWJ -- What We Do -- Other Notable Programs

Jurisprudence of Equality Program | Other Notable Programs | International Conferences

Other Notable Programs

Collaborating with other international organizations: The IAWJ collaborates actively with other international organizations and donors to advance the rights of women, especially through judicial systems. For example:

In June 2005 the IAWJ collaborated with the World Bank to bring together JEP-trained jurists from Tanzania and Uganda to participate in a global distance learning dialogue designed to explore relationships of gender, law, violence, property, and HIV/AIDS in Africa. The objective of this consultation was to raise issues and generate ideas to expand the capacity of national judiciaries to address the legal and gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS.

In May 2005 the IAWJ collaborated on a USAID-funded project for the judiciary in Jordan working with the Jordanian Ministry of Justice on their Judicial Upgrading Strategy (JUST), the Judicial Institute of Jordan (JIJ), and the women judges of Jordan along with DPK Consulting Inc. The IAWJ conducted a gender assessment of judicial education programs, the empowerment of the judiciary, particularly women judges, and a national survey on perceptions of the national judiciary

The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) invited the IAWJ to participate in a May 2005 workshop held in Utrecht, Netherlands. The workshop discussion guided the development of a manual that will serve as a practical guide for government officials and other stakeholders on how to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

In March 2005 the IAWJ and its Jurisprudence of Equality Program was featured as a panel discussion at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, during International Women's Week.

In 2003 in collaboration with the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association and the Lord Chancellor's office at the International Bar Association's Second World Women Lawyers Conference, the IAWJ cosponsored a judges' forum on international human rights in London.

In 2002, the IAWJ was the first non-government organization to be invited to send a Special Observer to the Special Session of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and as of 2004 was elevated to one of the few NGOs to hold Expert Status.

Judicial Education Programs: The IAWJ also conducts special education programs targeting specific countries and issues.

Afghanistan: In June 2005, the IAWJ and its partner, the Afghan Women Judges Association (AWJA) will launched a new program in Afghanistan: Legal Awareness for Women and High School Girls in Kabul High Schools. Through this program, the AWJA will educated approximately 300 teachers and girl students about their human rights under the new Afghan Constitution.

In June 2004 the IAWJ along with its partners, the AWJA and the Vermont Women Judges Association, conducted a three-week judicial education for women judges from Afghanistan. In addition to looking at all levels of the judiciary and rule of law issues, the women judges participated in capacity-building workshops to strengthen their leadership roles in the new Afghan Women Judges Association at home.

Taipei: In September 2005 the IAWJ was invited to conduct a three-day training session at the Judicial Personnel Study Center of the Judicial Yuan in Taipei, on international law and human rights.

International Biennial Conferences: The IAWJ holds biennial membership conferences that focus on different international issues and by capitalizing on the diverse expertise of our members serve as key forums for collaboration to address women's human rights. Past conferences have addressed domestic violence (1994), vulnerable and marginalized women, including refugees, women with HIV, the disabled, and teenage unmarried mothers (2000), and creative justice (2002). The theme for the 7th Biennial International Conference held in Entebbe, Uganda, May 9-13, 2004, was Access to Justice: Women and the Judicial Process. The conference presented a unique opportunity for the African judges to highlight their work and leadership in JEP. The impact of these conferences was considerable. The diverse educational sessions approached the theme of expanding women's access to justice from diverse perspectives: legal resources that can provide low cost options such as public defender services and court conciliation programs; family courts that can benefit women and their families in different countries; creative ways judges have exercised discretion to aid women who cannot afford legal representation in cases involving pro se litigants; judicial corruption and ways to restore judicial integrity; small discussion groups to analyze a hypothetical fact pattern and answer a series of questions that would require consideration of international conventions that promote and protect women's human rights. The theme of the 8th biennial conference held on May 3-7, 2006 in Sydney, Australia was "An Independent Judiciary: Culture, Religion, Gender, Politics." With 350 women judges from 43 countries attending, this Conference focused on many aspects of judicial independence, with particular emphasis on gender and cultural issues, and explored how threats to judicial independence can be addressed.

Public Outreach: The IAWJ sponsors lectures by noted international members and other experts as well as films to an invited public. For example in May 2005, the IAWJ and the American Society of International Law co-sponsored a reception with Justice Navanethem Pillay of South Africa, former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and current Justice on the International Criminal Court. Several weeks earlier, the IAWJ co-sponsored a Congressional Breakfast in Washington, DC with Justice Kate O'Regan and Justice Yvonne Mokgoro on the impact of the South Africa Constitutional Court on gender equity. In March 2005, the IAWJ hosted an event that featured the work of Hon. Marzia Basel, founder of the Afghan Women Judges Association, and Hon. Zakia Hakki, first woman judge of Iraq. In June 2004, the IAWJ organized public education events and expert discussions with the Afghan women judges at several venues in Washington, DC, including the World Bank and the U.S. Department of State. In 2003, a panel of IAWJ judges from Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, and Guatemala presented their views of rebuilding judicial systems in post-conflict societies at the Cosmos Club, Washington, DC.

Newsletter: Counterbalance International is the well-regarded, semi-annual newsletter of the IAWJ that highlights IAWJ programs and membership activities, addresses issues of importance to women judges, and features judicial opinions breaking new ground in women's human rights. It is published in English with Spanish and French online editions. The newsletter is available online as well as in hard copy, and is sent to members around the world.

Membership Directory and Global Database: The IAWJ issues a biennial membership directory that is updated and distributed to leaders of the national associations. The IAWJ is also developing a global database that would allow rapid classification of women judges according to their nationality, expertise and language fluency. This database will be a useful tool to identify qualified women judges when vacancies arise on international judicial and investigative bodies, or when speakers or trainers are needed to address various legal topics, and for serving as a resource to governments, NGOs and international organizations. It will be key in the advancement of JEP-trained judges and others focused on women's human rights in both national and international arenas.

Honoring contributors to women's human rights: Awards are presented at the international conference to jurists who have made notable contributions to advancing women's human rights. Among honorees in the past are IAWJ members, the Hon. Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, former Presiding Justice of the UN War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the Hon. Navathem Pillay, former Presiding Justice of the UN War Crimes Tribunal for Rwanda and recently elected member of the International Criminal Court. Former Ambassador Gertrude I. Mongella, newly elected first woman President of the Pan-African Parliament received the IAWJ's Human Rights Award in May 2004. In November 2003, the UNIFEM Trust Fund selected the IAWJ and its JEP program as one of three grantees to be honored at the United Nations during the celebration of the International Day for Eradication of Violence Against Women. Hon. Justice Nathalia Kimaro, JEP trainer and judge on the High Court of Tanzania, represented the IAWJ by speaking at this event.

Law Book Project: In 2000, the IAWJ and the US National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) collected several thousand used, but still useful law books, and shipped them to Ghana where the Ghana Women Judges Association presented them to the Supreme Court library. A similar shipment was sent in 2001 to the Supreme Court of Tanzania.

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