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Mutua addresses conference on gender-based violence
By CHARLES ANZALONE
Contributing Editor
UB Law School Dean Makau W. Mutua returned to his native Kenya this week to deliver a keynote speech at a Pan-African conference in Nairobi devoted to administering justice to those responsible for sexual and gender-biased violence in countries besieged by conflict and civil unrest.
Makau Mutua delivered a keynote
address at the Pan-African conference in Nairobi,
Kenya.
PHOTO: DOUGLAS LEVERE
Mutua, who is a SUNY Distinguished Professor and the Floyd H. and Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar in the UB Law School, spoke on “Transitional and Restorative Justice: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Context” during the conference’s opening program, held on Monday in the Sarova Panafric Hotel. The conference brought some of Africa’s leading scholars together to discuss the extreme violence many women suffer when their countries endure civil strife, armed conflict or natural and manmade disasters. Those taking part in the conference hoped to develop an advocacy platform to protect women from violence during and after these times of conflicts.
Mutua’s speech focused on transitional justice, government attempts to address human rights violations that took place during times of unrest. Mutua also was a featured panelist in a roundtable discussion to develop a measured plan for governments to address past injustices, particularly against women.
“Only in the last decade have we seen serious attempts to remove women’s rights from the ghetto of the rights discourse,” Mutua said in his prepared remarks. “This is our challenge at this conference, and in the human rights movement, particularly in the context of transitional justice in Africa.
“How do we de-marginalize women’s rights questions in the construction of transitional justice vehicles? In particular, how do civil society, academics, states, funding organizations and intergovernmental organizations address—in serious ways—the problems of sexual and gender violence in transitional justice contexts?
“We know from the historical record that sexual and gender violence is arguably the most predominant abomination in civil conflicts and wars,” Mutua said. “Yet, we also know that this egregious form of violence is either never reported, or rarely attracts the attention of the media.”
Mutua is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on human rights law. He is a member of the executive council and the executive committee of the American Society of International Law, the most prestigious and largest organization of international lawyers in the world. He serves as chairman of the Kenya Human Rights Commission and sits on the boards of several international organizations.
While on sabbatical in Kenya in 2003, Mutua was appointed by the Kenyan government to chair the Task Force on the Establishment of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. He also was a delegate to the National Constitutional Conference, the forum that produced a contested draft constitution for Kenya.