judith gardam women armed conflicts and international law

As a consequence, the current legal framework of IHL in fact further exacerbates already given inequalities and causes new forms of gender discrimination which in turn leads the authors to call for a profound re-examination of IHL, the prosecution of its violators, and the redress provided to their female victims.īy disregarding the unequal status of women vis-à-vis men, the system of IHL thus reflects a solely male perspective on armed conflict, the authors claim. Precisely, the authors argue that as the existing legal framework of jus in bello is based on formal gender equality while profound inequalities between men and women are the reality in all societies worldwide, the system fails to firstly, recognize the differential impact armed conflict has on both sexes, and secondly, to provide adequate protection according to these differences.

Outlining the experience of women in war, comparing these with the provisions provided to protect them in IHL, and looking for reasons for the silence of the law with regards to the actual experiences of women in conflict, they come to a puzzling conclusion. In their comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in addressing women’s needs in armed conflict, Judith Gardam and Michelle Jarvis claim no less than the fact that “IHL (…) has failed women” (p. Having graduated in International Relations from University College Maastricht, she has previously completed internships with the International Criminal Court and Human Rights Watch, and worked for the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute in 2012. Theresa is currently a graduate student in International Affairs within the Dual Masters Degree between Sciences Po Paris and Free University Berlin. This book is reviewed by Theresa Bergmann.

Judith gardam women armed conflicts and international law