The Helsinki Conference on International Law & Women's Rights
"An Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Role of International Law in Promoting Women's Rights"
Conference Overview
The Helsinki Conference on International Law & Women Rights will be hosted by the ICD Inter-parliamentary Alliance for Human Rights & Global Peace, which was established in 2009 with the aim of promoting local legislation that protects human rights, and support the long-term campaign for global peace and stability.The digital revolution, which has been highlighted by extensive citizen journalism, the dominance of social networks, as well as growing possibilities for people to travel and move around the world, has brought a renewed awareness and emphasis once more on the current widespread gender imbalance worldwide. It has become apparent to the global community that in both developing to industrialized countries, gender imbalance exists in many forms and creates a burden on society in economic, moral and other terms at local, national and global levels. Global governance organizations, federal governments, parliaments and NGOs from around the world are therefore working tirelessly, and in some cases collectively, to both raise awareness for this situation and to improve it by tackling gender imbalance both directly and indirectly.
International law has the unparalleled potential to support and protect women's rights as well as to equalize them to men's rights. It also plays a vital role in the development and the progress of improving their future status. However, in order to improve the reality of women's rights globally, and to implement international law at all levels, the legislation of these laws at the local parliamentary level must take place in each individual country providing the framework for the application of women's rights. Without this legal framework applied at both the global and the local level, it will be considerably more difficult to constitute and to assure the protection of women's rights globally in a sustainable approach.
Conference Speakers & Delegates
Speakers & Delegates during the conferences will include, among others, heads of state & leading politicians, senior diplomats, leading governmental officials, senior academics, renowned authors, journalists, and celebrated artists. These speakers will include a significant number of individuals from the ICD Advisory Board. To learn more about the ICD Advisory Board, please click here.Speakers for the Conference include:
The Hon. Mari Kiviniemi Former Prime Minister of Finland |
Minister Erkki Tuomioja Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland |
MEP Anneli Jäätteenmäki Former Prime Minister of Finland |
The Hon. Elisabeth Rehn Former Minister of Defence of Finland |
MP Aila Paloniemi Member of the Finnish Parliament |
The Hon. Ulla-Maj Wideroos Former Minister of Finance of Finland |
Amb. Norma Bertha Pensado Moreno Ambassador of Mexico to Finland |
MP Pia Kauma Finnish Columnist, Writer; TV& Radio Performer |
MP Elisabeth Nauclér Member of the Parliament of Finland |
Jukka Relander Finnish Columnist, Writer; TV& Radio Performer |
Johanna Norrback-Ilvessalo Senior associate, Attorneys at Law Borenius LtD |
MP Satu Haapanen Member of Parliament of Finland |
Conference Agenda
The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy recognizes the historic importance and potential for international law to serve as a strong catalyst for women's rights advocacy. Therefore, this event has been designed in order to be the first of an event series aiming to analyzing the role of international law in promoting human and women's rights.The Helsinki Conference on International Law & Women Rights will be hosted by the ICD Inter-parliamentary Alliance for Human Rights & Global Peace, which was established in 2009 with the aim of promoting local legislation that protects human rights, and support the long-term campaign for global peace and stability. The conference will further explore and discuss these issues to formulate joint strategies for future implementation. The conference will feature a variety of lectures and panel discussions providing participants the opportunity to debate the role of international law in promoting women rights.
The conference will focus, in particular, on the following areas and issues:
- The Potential for International Law to create a Framework for the Development and Protection of Women's Rights
- Using International Law for Effective Implementation of Gender Equality Policies
- The Role of Cultural Diplomacy to Promote Gender Equality
- Raising Awareness for Gender Equality Globally using International Law