The Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project invites you to a hybrid panel event on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET about the crucial role women and their testimonies play in the pursuit of justice and accountability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). 

The discussion will feature Dalal Mawad, award-winning Lebanese journalist and author of All She Lost: ​​The Explosion in Lebanon, the Collapse of a Nation and the Women who Survive. About her book, Mawad says she aimed to speak to “the culture of impunity” in which “women suffer silently” without the ability to shape historical narratives. All She Lost seeks to shed light on women’s stories of loss and resilience across boundaries of skin color, race, and class.

Mai El-Sadany, executive director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), will offer her perspective as a human rights lawyer and regional expert on the path forward for accountability and the importance of women’s perspectives in shaping just societies in the region. Throughout her career, Mai has worked to expand creative pathways to accountability, to leverage international and regional mechanisms to advance human rights, and to publish accessible analysis and scholarship on legal, judicial, and constitutional issues.

Strategic Litigation Project nonresident senior fellow Haydee Dijkstal will contribute her expertise in international justice and accountability. Dijkstal is a UK barrister practicing international criminal law and international human rights law, and a US attorney with over a decade of experience in international law. Her practice in the area of international criminal law includes cases before the International Criminal Court, International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Dijkstal’s practice in the area of international human rights law covers issues including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, free speech and association, indigenous peoples’ rights, cultural heritage and the right to family life, privacy, and identity.

This conversation will take place at the Atlantic Council’s headquarters and will be broadcast on Zoom, X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook. The event will be followed by a book signing for All She Lost: ​​The Explosion in Lebanon, the Collapse of a Nation and the Women who Survive. Register above to attend in person or to join us online. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to attend. The event is open to members of the press and will be on the record.

Featuring

Mai El-Sadany
Executive Director
Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)

Haydee Dijkstal
Nonresident Senior Fellow
Atlantic Council Strategic Litigation Project

Dalal Mawad
Independent award-winning Lebanese journalist

Moderated by

Patricia Karam
Nonresident Fellow
Arab Center Washington DC

Strategic Litigation Project

The Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project injects fresh thinking into how governments and practitioners can apply legal tools to advance human rights and accountability around the world.