CEDAW ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 

The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law is proud to host a roundtable discussion:

“Time Is A-Wasting”: Making the Case for CEDAW Ratification by the United States 

This article by Professor Rangita de Silva de Alwis and Ambassador Melanne Verveer will be published in Volume 60 of the Journal.  To raise national attention to this crucial topic, we are hosting a roundtable discussion for scholars, advocates, and other leading stakeholders.  Together, we will elevate this issue ahead of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly. 

The roundtable is scheduled for September 10, 2021, from 12 - 1:30 pm ET in a hybrid format.  We anticipate a short welcome from Dean Lester and the authors, brief interventions by distinguished guests, followed by questions from the audience.   

Speakers Include:

·       Gillian Lester, Dean of Columbia Law School

·       Naheed Farid, Chair of the Women’s Affairs Committee, Afghanistan Parliament

·       Harold Hongju Koh, Former Dean of Yale Law School, Sterling Professor of Law, former Legal Adviser and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, currently Senior Advisor in the Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. State Department for the Biden Administration and repeat witness before Congress on behalf of the CEDAW

·       Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict

·       Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Former Executive Director of UN Women

·       Hilary Gbedemah, Chair of the CEDAW Committee

·       Irina Bokova, Former Director-General of UNESCO

·       Hina Jilani, Former UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders

·       Judge Nancy Gertner (Ret.), Senior Lecturer at Harvard Law School

·       Paula Johnson, President of Wellesley College

· Dubravka Šimonović, Former UN Special Rapportuer on violence against women, its causes and consequences

·       Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression