Former UN Women official Elsie-Bernadette Onubogu says, “WPS is the story of power relations and a power struggle……..”
On the evening of February 11th, the Centre for Critical International Law held its first lecture for the Spring term, entitled ‘Women, Peace and Security (WPS)’. The guest lecturer, Ms. Elsie-Bernadette Onubogu is an International lawyer specializing in the areas of Gender, Peacekeeping and Development.
The lecture was attended by students and faculty from the Schools of Politics and Law. Ms. Onubogu spoke to the group about issues such as the history of women’s liberation, the role of the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions, women’s peace movements, and the changing nature of conflict.
Addressing the gathering, Ms. Onubogo, who is also former diplomat and consultant on Social Inclusion, Conflict Management and Peace Building, stated that, “gender inequality in society and the persistent assault on women’s rights continues to be a challenge to peace and security.”
As an investigator for the UN Tribunal for Rwanda, Ms. Onubogu dealt with cases of sexual assault against women, and has also served in UN Peacekeeping Missions in the former Yugoslavia and East Timor.
During the Q&A, questions were raised in relation to the effectiveness of the UN as a peacekeeping body and Ms. Onubogu acknowledged the imperfection and yet the necessity of the organization.
As students of International Law, who encounters the subjects of the UN, peace and conflict consistently in their studies, it was insightful to hear from a practitioner who had an intimate knowledge of these areas from first-hand experience.