ICHR Co-Organises a Palais des Nations Side Event on Women's Condition and Violence in Wartime

The International Coalition for Human Rights is a co-organiser of "Women's Condition and Violence in Wartime — Focus: The Sudan Crisis", a side event convened by CAP Liberté de Conscience at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Event details

• Date: Tuesday, 25 August 2026
• Time: 15:00 – 17:00
• Venue: Room VIII, Palais des Nations, Geneva
• Convened by: CAP Liberté de Conscience
• Co-organised by: the International Coalition for Human Rights and the European Association for the Defence of Minorities

What the panel will examine

The session examines the deterioration of women's condition in contemporary armed conflicts, with particular attention to the crisis in Sudan: mass displacement, the collapse of reproductive health services, sexual violence used as a weapon of war, and the denial of humanitarian access. Participants will share field experience and formulate concrete recommendations for the United Nations.

Sexual and gender-based violence is not an incidental consequence of war. Where it is used systematically it is an instrument of power and subjugation, and survivors carry its physical, psychological and social effects long after the fighting has stopped.

Where hospitals and clinics are destroyed or cannot be reached, pregnant women, survivors of sexual violence and girls are the first to lose care. Displacement costs more than a home: it severs livelihoods, community networks and the ordinary structures that keep people safe.

Women are not only affected by these conflicts. They are also builders of peace, and their participation in negotiations and in decision-making is a condition of any durable settlement — not a courtesy extended once one has been reached.

Panel

• Thierry Valle — President, CAP Liberté de Conscience
• Isabelle Wachsmuth — Project Manager, World Health Organization
• Sarah Thierrée — Psychologist, IPC expert on torture and institutional violence
• Andy Vermaut — Founder and President, Postversa; journalist
• Manel Msalmi — Founder and President, European Association for the Defence of Minorities
• Ramon Rahangmetan — Co-Founder, Circle for Sustainable Europe
• Abderrahim Grein — Representative, International Coalition for Human Rights
• Dr. Mohamed Ali — Director of International Relations, International Coalition for Human Rights

The event was previewed by panellist and journalist Andy Vermaut in the Belgian outlet In de Gazette: Genève zet situatie van vrouwen in oorlog centraal (in Dutch).

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THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Advancing Human Rights • Peace • Justice

Geneva / Brussels / New York, 23 August 2026