With peace talks anticipated to begin this week on the fifth anniversary of the war in Syria, the Syrian Accountability Project (SAP) at Syracuse University College of Law will release a groundbreaking report that documents and analyzes incidents of rape during the Syrian conflict.
Compiled using international legal standards — and with an eye toward future transitional justice for the victims — the white paper is set to be distributed to the United Nations and other international legal organizations.
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Hawa Bangura will provide keynote remarks at the white paper’s release event, “Spotlight on Syria: The Gendered Perils of War and Forced Migration,” to be held on March 24, 2016, at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in partnership with SAP, Syracuse University College of Law, and the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications.
The release of the white paper will be followed by an expert panel on gender crimes in conflict in Syria and the Levant and accompanied by curated multimedia presentations on the conflict.
You can view a live stream of the event here:
Agenda:
12 – 1:30 p.m. EDT – Keynote
“International Law and Sexual Violence in the Syrian Conflict” by Zainab Hawa Bangura, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Introductions by David Crane, SU College of Law Professor of Practice, founding Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, SAP Project Leader
Q&A to Follow
2 – 2:30 p.m. EDT – SAP White Paper Release
“Looking Through the Window Darkly: Rape in Syria, 2011-2015” featuring analysis and documentation of 142 incidents of rape occurring from the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 to 2015. It is the first document of its kind to not only highlight and analyze reported accounts of this horrific gender crime, but also to apply international legal standards with an eye toward future transitional justice for the victims.
David Crane, SU College of Law Professor of Practice, founding Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, SAP Project Leader
Peter Levrant, Executive Director, SAP
2:30 – 4 p.m. EDT – Expert Panel
“Gendered Perils of War in Syria and the Levant”
Moderator: Catherine Bertini, Professor of Practice, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program (1992 to 2002)
Participants:
Zainab Hawa Bangura, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Lamis Abdelaaty, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Lynn Levey, Syrian Accountability Project, Legal Writing Professor, SU College of Law
In addition, attendees can experience a virtual reality, 3-D journey out of Syria called Clouds over Sidra throughout the event, beginning at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
ABOUT THE SYRIAN ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Started at Syracuse University College of Law in 2011, the Syrian Accountability Project is an internationally recognized cooperative effort between activists, non-governmental organizations, students and other interested parties to document war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the Syrian crisis. Now in its fifth phase, the project aims to produce nonpartisan, high-quality analysis of open source materials and catalogue that information relative to applicable bodies of law; including, the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and Syrian Penal Law.
Top image: FILE – In this file photo, A Syrian refugee woman tends to her daughter while cooking inside her tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)