Accessing Justice for Widows & Half-widows in the Chaos of Conflict #CSW70
Wednesday 11th March, 2026.
CSW 70 – Widows for Peace (WPD) Parallel Event. CSW Event ID:#18803
12.30pm to 2pm GMT/UCT.
8.30am to 10am ET/EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).
This is a remote/virtual event. See below for information about joining the event.
CSW Priority Theme
Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers.
Speakers
Evidence Collection, Analysis and Sharing.
- Kaoru Okuizumi, Deputy Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).
Focus: What is the IIMM? How can WPD learn from its work in collecting, preserving and analysis evidence and sharing this evidence?
Making the case for emergency documentation in conflict.
- Iris Sawalha, Regional Lead for the Data and Results Unit, UN Women – Arab States;
Focus: The need for widow-aware data in emergencies and conflict settings. - Lyudmyla Porokhnyak, President of the National Council of Women of Ukraine;
Focus: The situation of widows and half-widows in Ukraine as well as what the National Council of Women in Ukraine are doing to support them. - Richie Lontulungu, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and member of the Human Rights sub-committee on widows’ rights.
Focus: The situation of widows and half-widows in the DRC and actions being taken to support access to justice. - Shamim Shawl, SG Kashmir Women’s Movement;
Focus: Widows and half-widows under occupation.
Keynote Speech
Audience Q & A.
Moderator / Chair – Isabel Acheson – BPP University.
Supporting Speech – the Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances (ARED) – North and East Provinces, Sri Lanka.
Mrs. Leeladevi Anandanadarajah, General Secretary of ARED.
Mrs. Leeladevi Anandanadarajah is unable to be present at the event but has submitted this important speech.
Please click here to view and download the ARED document – Accessing Justice in the Chaos of Conflict: Widows and Half-Widows Seek Emergency Justice – Speech by Mrs. Leeladevi Anandanadarajah.
Event Summary
Our WPD CSW 70 event contributes to evidence needed to establish a legal basis for why documentation (legal acknowledgement of dead or missing persons) in conflict and forced displacement contexts is both legally grounded and urgently needed.
Exposing institutional failure: We address solutions that work in conflict zones; where grassroots partners can support weak state legal systems.
Join the Event Remotely
Register with the NGOCSW forum as a remote attendee. Click here.
Once registered on the forum, click here to sign in to the event. (NGO CSW70 Forum Virtual Portal).
See more about NGO CSW70 here.
Please help us to empower widows of all ages
- Jacqueline Musugani, Coordinator of Initiatives des Femmes en Situations Difficiles pour le Développement Durable et Intégré, IFESIDDI, DR Congo;
Focus: The experience of widows in DR Congo. - Ferdus Ara Begum – Rohingya Widows, Bangladesh;
Focus: Widows and half-widows in Cox’s Bazar.