Forced Marriage in Conflict Situations International Conference

Special Court for Sierra Leone

On February 24-26, 2011, York Law & Society Professor, Annie Bunting, the Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations, and The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples hosted an unprecedented international conference on the topic of forced marriage in conflict situations in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Bringing together historians of slavery and women’s human rights scholars, survivor groups, local NGOs, officials and leading academics and activists working on the issue, the conference explored the phenomenon of forced marriage and enslavement from comparative and historical perspectives. During conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda, women were kidnapped, raped and forced into “marriages” with combatants. The Special Court for Sierra Leone recently found such gender violations to constitute a new crime against humanity of “forced marriage” as opposed to “sexual slavery”. The international expert group explored the merits of prosecuting those responsible for forced marriage under the headings of “sexual slavery”, “forced marriage” or “enslavement”. It also focused on the historical antecedents of servile marriage and enslavement of women.

The conference is the second of two events supported by a Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada International Opportunities Fund Grant. In October 2010, Bunting hosted an international research workshop on the issue at York University. Research team members for the international project include Rosaline M’Carthy, chair of the Women’s Forum in Sierra Leone, which is a national umbrella organization of women’s groups in the region, representatives from the Coalition of Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations, the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University, Free the Slaves, the Harriet Tubman Institute, the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa, Rights & Democracy, l’Université du Québec à Montréal, the University of Liverpool, the Women’s Forum, and the Wilberforce Institute on the Study of Slavery and Emancipation.

Date and Place

February 24-26, 2011
Freetown, Sierra Leone

Conference Hotel:
Hotel Barmoi
http://www.hotelbarmoi.com/

General Information on Freetown, Sierra Leone:
http://www.visitsierraleone.org/
[Visa, vaccination, transportation information and much more]

The conflict in Sierra Leone ended in 2002.
A woman walks in Freetown, August 2010. Photo by Neil Cole.

Program

Please see attached below.

Invited Participants

Principal Investigator: Annie Bunting, Associate Professor in Law and Society, York University

Research Assistant: Karlee Sapoznik, Ph.D. Candidate, York University

International Participants:

1. Grace Achan (Uganda)
2. Jean Allain, Senior Lecturer in Law Queen’s University of Belfast; Principal Investigator Slavery as the Powers attaching to the Right of Ownership Network
3. Teddy Atim Apunyo, Feinstein International Center (Uganda)
4. Gaëlle Breton-LeGoff, Faculty, l’Université du Québec à Montréal
5. Khristopher Carlson, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
6. Gisele Eva Côté, Rights & Democracy, Women’s Rights Programme Officer
7. Paul Lovejoy, Director, Harriet Tubman Institute; Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History, York University
8. Eugène Lurhondere Buzake (DRC)
9. Julienne Maliyabwana Lusenge (DRC)
10. Didacienne Mukahabeshimana (Rwanda)
11. Godeliève Mukasarasi (Rwanda)
12. Joel Quirk, Wilberforce Institute on the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull
13. Suzanne Schwarz, Liverpool Hope University
14. Isabelle Solon-Hélal, Rights & Democracy, Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations
15. Caroline Bowah (Medica Mondiale, Liberia)
16. Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Gulnara Shahinian

Local Participants:

1. Rosaline M’Carthy, President, Women’s Forum, Sierra Leone
2. Professor Amy Joof
3. SCSL Deputy Prosecutor Jim Johnson
4. SCSL Registrar
5. Jamesina King, Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone
6. Mrs. Fatou Kargbo, Minestry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs
7. Ms. Melrose Kargbo, UN Women
8. Mrs. Hawa Sesay, NaCSA
9. Mrs. Eileen Hanciles, FAWE
10. Rev. Marie Yansaneh, Female Parliamentary Caucus
11. Mr. Antionious Lansana, International Rescue Committee
12. Mrs. Christiana Momoh, Action Aid (International) (S.L.)
13. Mr. Mohamed Suma, ICTJ
14. Mr. Brima Sheriff, Amnesty International

Please see attached below for the biographies of the participants.