Funded by UNITAR’s Strategic Framework Fund (SFF), the “Overcoming Global Challenges through International Law” project aims to provide participants with new insights on highly topical legal issues, ranging from the rule of law, business and human rights, to climate change induced migration. In addition to raising participants’ awareness on such legal topics, each e-workshop also underlines the connection between the legal challenges and issues such as women empowerment and gender equality.

The first set of e-workshops were implemented in November 2020 and focused on the importance of the rule of law. Over the course of two days, the activity examined the rule of law during normal times and its applicability during times of crisis. Throughout both sessions, participants highlighted the role that women can play in the legal sphere. The e-workshops were delivered for three different regions, namely UNECA and UNESCWA (Africa and Western Asia), UNESCAP (Asia-Pacific), and  UNECLAC (Latin America and the Caribbean). The gender balance during most of these e-Workshops bore faith to recent developments in gender parity awareness. Both the UNESCAP and UNECLAC workshops featured a clear majority of women participants, with 55% for the South Asia and Pacific e-workshop and 69% for the Latin America and Caribbean one.

Starting with the rule of law during normal times, the e-workshops focused on the need for equality before the law. Several exercises and polls asked participants to critically reflect on the issue. During experience-sharing sessions, participants identified clear developments in recent years but noted that in some areas women remained at a disadvantage. When it came to the rule of law during times of crisis, both the ongoing covid-pandemic and the increased migratory movements in recent years were addressed. When reflecting on the promotion of the rule of law in the midst of these global challenges, participants underscored that the respect for Human Rights and especially gender equality was paramount.

UNITAR staff and participants to the first series of SFF e-workshops were pleased to have been able to address challenges to the Rule of Law with a lens on gender equality. The next e-workshops of the “Overcoming Global Challenges through International Law” project will focus on the issue of Business and Human Rights and are scheduled for February/March 2021. UNITAR aspires to bring even more detailed attention to a gender-aware approach on these highly salient issues of sustainable development.