Type Non-profit NGO Area served Worldwide | Focus Human rights activism | |
Founded 2005; 12 years ago (2005) Headquarters New York City, United States Product Non profit human rights advocacy | ||
The Global Justice Center (GJC) is an international human rights and humanitarian law organization aiming to advance gender equality by helping to implement and enforce human rights laws. Headquartered in New York City and led by founder Janet Benshoof, the GJC is a member of the United Nations NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. The GJC works with national and international Non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and others to effect change.
Contents
History
The Global Justice Center was founded by Janet Benshoof in 2005 to help pressure governments and institutions to enforce and implement treaties and international human rights laws that advance gender equality.
Focus Areas
The Global Justice Center focuses on four broad areas:
Access to Abortions for War Rape Victims
The GJC’s work in the realm of abortion provision for war rape victims stems from their conviction of states’ “positive obligations to provide non-discriminatory medical care under the Geneva Conventions,” which, according to their interpretation, “entitles all victims of armed conflict — including those brutalized by rape — to complete and non-discriminatory medical treatment.” The organization continues to work to repeal the United States’ Helms Amendment of 1973 which states that, “no foreign assistance funds may be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.” The GJC argues against an overly restrictive interpretation of the Helms Amendment that includes all abortions, and along with the Government of Norway has called on the United States to allow for abortions for war rape victims. On 12 August 2016, the Global Justice Center launched a White House petition asking US President Barack Obama to issue an executive order to lift the ban on abortions in cases of "rape, life endangerment and incest."
Justice for War Rape Victims
The GJC advocates for justice for war rape victims, doing so by holding that rape, as a weapon of war, should be “prosecuted as an illegal weapon under International law.” According to the GJC, failing to adequately prosecute rapes in war may implicate international discrimination frameworks, since women are disproportionately victims of rape in war.
Gender Lens in Genocide Prosecutions
The GJC works to pressure international groups and institutions to use a gender lens when enforcing the Genocide Convention, arguing that current enforcement fails to adequately account for the differential experiences of women in conflict and the gender-based genocidal tactics often used in contemporary warfare, such as sexual slavery. In December 2015, for example, the GJC pressured the International Criminal Court to investigate gender-based genocidal actions perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
Women in Government
The GJC works to ensure legal gender equality and laws for the inclusion of women in governance in post-conflict countries. Their work is focused on including women at all levels of government, including serving on peace treaties, in political parties, and executive branch appointments. The GJC works with Burmese organizations to increase women's involvement in the Burmese Government and submitted evidence to the CEDAW review of Burma.