On Friday 5 March 2021, the European Law Students Association Italia (ELSA Italia), in partnership with the joint EU/Council of Europe programme JUSTROM3 and UNHCR, hosted the first of a series of webinars organized on the occasion of this year’s Moot Court Competition (XVIII edition), which will focus on trafficking in human beings, statelessness and Roma women.
The webinar addressed the issues of violence against women and girls and access to justice, with the participation of several prominent experts in these areas: Ms Bianca Pomeranzi, expert and former member of the UN CEDAW Committee, Ms Simona Lanzoni, second rotating Vice-President of GREVIO (Council of Europe) and Justice Emma Rizzato.
More specifically, the experts discussed the historical evolution of international legislation and the adoption of increasingly specific international and regional standards to counter discrimination and human rights violations against women.
Further, the significant contribution of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention) was discussed. It was emphasized that as a regional soft law instrument based on the principle of non-discrimination and women’s empowerment, its strength resides in its binding legal character and the important link it traces between achieving gender equality and combating violence against women.
Lastly, the webinar addressed the most relevant and recent developments in terms of the legal protection of women victims of gender-based violence within the domestic juridical framework in Italy.
The event was attended by a total of 90 participants, namely the registered participants to this year’s Moot Court Competition, along with other ELSA Italy and ELSA Greece members.