Yazda, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Coalition for Genocide Response, and the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU), and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) invite you to a parallel event to the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, hosted by CUNY’s Centre for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity:
Justice Beyond UNITAD: Advancing Access to Justice for Yazidi Women and Girls
9 March 2026
4:00 – 5:30 PM
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, NY 10016
Room C198
Almost 12 years after Daesh unleashed genocide against the Yazidis, the question of justice remains urgent and unresolved for Yazidi women and girls.
The closure of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh/ISIL (UNITAD) in September 2024 marked a significant turning point. While UNITAD achieved important progress in documenting crimes and supporting evidence preservation, many perpetrators remain at large, and pathways to prosecution and reparations are uncertain. Recent developments in the region, including the transfer and release of Daesh suspects from detention in Syria to Iraq, have heightened risks for survivors and underscore the need for renewed international attention to accountability.
At the same time, universal jurisdiction cases and other national prosecutions have demonstrated that meaningful progress toward justice is possible when political will and coordination exist.
This parallel event will convene policymakers, legal practitioners, UN representatives, and civil society to examine pathways to justice for Yazidi women and girls in the post-UNITAD context and to identify concrete steps that can be taken by states and international institutions.
Speakers include:
- Baroness Hodgson, UK House of Lords, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security
- Mediha Alhamad, survivor of the Yazidi genocide, human rights advocate
- Natia Navrouzov, Yazda, Executive Director
- Emily Kenny, Rule of Law and Transitional Justice, UN Women
- Amira Rajasingham, Research and Advocacy Officer, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- Leila Ghahhary, Yazda, Legal Representative
- Dr Ewelina Ochab, IBAHRI, Senior Lawyer, CGR, founder
The session will be introduced by Professor Debórah Dwork, the Director of the Centre for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity.
Organised by Yazda | IBAHRI | Coalition for Genocide Response | BGIPU | GCR2P
Hosted by CUNY’s Centre for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity
