The Helsinki Conference on International Law & Women's Rights

"An Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Role of International Law in Promoting Women's Rights"

(Helsinki; March 10th - 12th, 2014)
  Monday, March 10th, 2014
09:30 Registration
Tea, Coffee & Refreshments
10:00 "The Role of International Law in Promoting Women's Rights"
(Lecture & Discussion)

Speaker:  
Minister Erkki Tuomioja
(Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland)

Location:
The Foreign Ministry of Finland
11:00 Panel 1: "The Role of International Law in Promoting Women's Rights"

Chairperson:
The Hon. Mari Kiviniemi
(Former Prime Minister of Finland)

Speakers:  

Implementation of International and National Laws when Customary Laws  are Respected

The Impact of International Conventions on  Gendered Violence Discourses in Finland
Prof. Dr. Marjut Jyrkinen
(Professor, Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki)

Human Rights in Education:  Women's and Children's Rights Perspectives
Dr. Alessandra Sarelin
(Researcher, Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University)

A Female Attorney's Role in the Pursuit of Gender Equality
Johanna Norrback-Ilvessalo
Senior Associate, Attorneys at Law Borenius LtD
Minister Elisabeth Rehn    
(Former Minister of Defense of Finland)

Location:
The Foreign Ministry of Finland
12:30 Lunch Break
Location:
The Foreign Ministry of Finland
14:00 Panel 2: "International Perspectives on Raising Awareness for Gender Equality Globally using International Law"

Chairperson:
Mark C. Donfried 
(Director General & Founder, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy)

Speakers:  

Women's Rights are Human Rights
H. E. Amb. Sello Moloto     
(Ambassador of South Africa to Finland)
H.E. Amb.Datin Seri Blanche Olbery
(Ambassador of Malaysia to Finland)

Women's Human Rights Towards the Post-2015 Development Agenda. A view from Mexico.
H.E. Amb.  Norma Bertha Pensado Moreno   
(Ambassador of Mexico to Finland)

Finnish Gender Equality Policies - What Role for International Law?
Dr. Johanna Kantola
(Academy Research Fellow, Gender Studies, Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki)

The role CEDAW and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the Promotion of the Rights of Women with Disabilities
Pirkko Mahlamäki
(Secretary General of the Finnish Disability Forum; Board Member of European Disability Forum)

The Possibilities of Gender Advisors to Advance Women's Rights in the Context of International Peace-Keeping and Crisis Management
Prof. Dr. Elina Penttinen    
(University Lecturer, Gender Studies, University of Helsinki)
Equal Treatment also for "The Smallest"
Terttu Savola
(Chairperson, the Poor Party of Finland; Member, Council of the City of Espoo; Ambassador for Human Rights and Children's Rights in the Finnish United Nations Alliance)
Päivi Nikkilä
Chair of the Board at The Women Journalists in Finland

Location:
The Foreign Ministry of Finland
15:30 Break
Location:
The Foreign Ministry of Finland
16:00

 
Panel 3: "International Perspectives on Raising Awareness for Gender Equality Globally using International Law"

Chairperson:
Mark C. Donfried 
(Director General & Founder, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy)

Speakers:  
Prof. Dr. Stefan Kirchner   
(Visiting Professor for Fundamental and Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Lapland)

Honour Related Violence Against Women
Dr. Satu Lidman
University Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, Legal History, University of Turku, Finland

Location:
The Foreign Ministry of Finland
(18:00) Reception

Location:
The Foreign Ministry of Finland