In only the second time the UNSC has discussed violence against LGBTIQ people, the March ’23 Arria Formula Meeting took testimony from Colombia and Afghanistan on the effects of persecution on LGBTIQ individuals with US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The Ambassador comments that the UNSC needs to incorporate LGBTIQ persons’ human rights in carrying out its mandate. Many states agreed while others dissented stating that only “universally” accepted problems and identities should be discussed.

In a conversation with Colombia Diversa’s Peace and Transitional Justice Coordinator, María Susana Peralta Ramón, this article discusses why transitional justice needs to account for queer experiences and why the definition of gender should include the LGBTQ and intersectional movements.

Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) Expert Roundtable

Experts discuss the severe deprivation of fundamental rights under element one of the Rome Statute through a comparative perspective, focusing on conflicts in Afghanistan and Colombia as examples. Speakers outlined what constitutes a severe deprivation of a fundamental right and how such crimes highlight the longstanding structural discrimination women, girls and LGBTQI+ persons experience. Speakers include: Richard Bennet, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan; Ana Elena Abello Jiménez, Legal Officer, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Colombia); and Emily Kenney, a Policy Specialist, Rule of Law and Transitional Justice at UN Women.

Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) Expert Roundtable

Panelists discuss the development and legal analysis of the ICC policy paper on the crime of gender persecution, including how it will guide the ICC Office of the Prosecutor and the ways governments and civil society can utilize the text in national and local settings. Speakers include: Michelle Jarvis, Deputy Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (Syria) (IIIM); René Urueña, Professor of Law at Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia); and Dr. Yvonne Dutton, Professor of Law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

24 WM. & MARY J. WOMEN & L. 175

This article explores why prosecutions of gender-based crimes are necessary for building both peace and a just society. It also provides an analysis of three forms of gender persecution as crimes against humanity committed by ISIS: persecution based on gender roles, dress, and behavior. These forms of gender persecution are underlying ISIS’s crimes of rape, torture, and murder. The article also discusses two provisions under the Rome Statute for prosecuting gender based crimes, specifically gender-based persecution as a crime against humanity and torture as a war crime based on gender discrimination. Lastly, the article discusses why now is the right time to utilize these legal strategies.