At such a dark time for democracy and fundamental rights, MEDEL celebrates the International Day of Women Judges by remembering the commitment that women, in judicial systems, judicial associations and civil society, have shown in affirming and defending these values.
In the last years of Rule of law backsliding in Europe and of unprecedented attacks on judicial systems, women have contributed to the resilience of an independent justice and to the building of a democratic bulwark for its defence.
Where authoritarian and obscurantist regimes have wiped out the achievements of democracy and Rule of law, women are paying an extremely high price for having contributed to the establishment of a legal system providing protection to individual rights.
We must not remain silent on the situation in Afghanistan, where the regime intensified the crackdown on human rights and the persecution against women and girls, establishing an “institutionalized system of discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity, and exclusion”[1], that led to the request of UN experts of including gender apartheid among crimes against humanity.[2]
MEDEL reiterates its support for all women who fight for judicial independence and who act as examples – in all contexts of oppression and repression – of commitment to Rule of law;
MEDEL calls on the international community to take all necessary steps to ensure that, in these contexts, fundamental rights and freedoms are restored for all women, and that protection is provided for those who risk their lives for their commitment to justice and democracy.
March 10, 2025
[1] https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5625-phenomenon-institutionalized-system-discrimination-segregation
[2] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/gender-apartheid-must-be-recognised-crime-against-humanity-un-experts-say
Statement - The International Day of Women Judges (.pdf)