March 20th, 2025: On March 5, 2025, in honor of International Women’s Day, the Kovler Project Against Torture, a program of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law hosted the conference “Women, Torture, and the Law: International Human Rights Responses” - a compelling event that examined the intersection of gender, torture, and international human rights law. The event featured two thought-provoking panels – “Hostage-Taking, Torture, and Women: Perspectives Under International Law” and “Torture and Detention in Latin American: Challenges and Responses of International Human Rights Law.” These panels explored the unique challenges women face in the context of torture and the legal frameworks designed to address these human rights violations.

We were privileged to welcome a distinguished group of speakers featuring: Professor Claudio Grossman – Faculty Director of the Kovler Project Against Torture, Professor Diego Rodríguez Pinzón – Co-Director of the Academy on Human Rights, Toby Schwartz - Director of Consular Policy, Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs (Canada), Professor Susana Sacouto - Director of the War Crimes Research Office, Viviana Krsticevic - Executive Director of CEJIL, Tahiris Castillo – Human Rights Advocate (Nicaragua), Leonor Arteaga – Program Director of DPLF, and Professor Juan Méndez - Special Rapporteur on Torture 2010-2016. All of our speakers are experts in international law, human rights advocates, and accomplished faculty who shared their experiences and insights. The discussions focused on the legal and systemic challenges that perpetuate gender-based torture and the urgent need for stronger protections and accountability.

A sincere thank you to our esteemed speakers and attendees for fostering such a thoughtful dialogue. We look forward to hosting more sessions to continue these critical conversations and bring more expert voices to the table.