(Français en bas)

 Please help spread the word about the event, including by sharing the event flyer (KR/FR)!

Join us for a parallel event for and by Haiti’s women and girls at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) period of sessions on March 14, 12:30-2 p.m. A panel of Haitian women’s rights activists and the Chair of the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls will offer a space dedicated to solving the challenges of mobilizing for the rights of women and a feminist policy agenda in Haiti during the present crisis and beyond, including how solidarity partners from outside Haiti can support their work.

RSVP to attend, get involved, or request a recording!

• WHEN: Friday, March 14, 12:30-2:30 Eastern
• WHERE: This is an in-person event taking place at the Church Center, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017 (located at the intersection of 44th Street and First Avenue, across from the UN Secretariat building in New York).
• REGISTRATION: To access the building you must register with NGO CSW beforehand. And we deeply appreciate your advance RSVP.
• LANGUAGE JUSTICE: The event will take place in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Haitian Creole and French. You will need a phone with the Zoom app and headphones to access interpretation; please get in touch if this presents a barrier.
• RECORDING: We will be recording the event and will post the recording (with interpretation) on this page. To request that we share the recording with you, please RSVP. 
• GET MORE INVOLVED: Haitian feminist and human rights activists’ efforts to mobilize against the injustices facing Haiti’s women and girls include a Policy Framework for an Effective and Equitable Transition in Haiti. Endorse the Framework here! (organizations only)
•  

MORE INFORMATION:

Haiti’s women and girls are guaranteed equal rights by their constitution and through international human rights instruments long ratified by Haiti. Yet they are denied those rights and subjected to gendered discrimination, exclusion, and violence. Tackling these harms requires fundamental legal, policy, and social changes. But women and their needs are consistently marginalized in policies and decision-making, including responses to Haiti’s present catastrophic crisis and efforts to transition towards peace and democratic governance. This is especially egregious given that the globally recognized Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda makes clear that centering women’s leadership and women’s needs – especially with respect to confronting gender-based violence – is critical to long-term peace and democracy. Haitian feminist and human rights activists have been mobilizing to confront these injustices, including through a Policy Framework for an Effective and Equitable Transition in Haiti. But we need to do more.

ENDORSE THE FRAMEWORK! (organizations only)

Creating a CSW space dedicated to mobilization by and for Haitian women and girls, a panel of Haitian activists and experts together with the Chair of the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls will discuss these challenges and the actions necessary to ensure that Haitian women and their needs are centered in Haiti’s future, including what solidarity partners from beyond Haiti can do to support them. We invite you to join us!

 Please help spread the word about the event!

Moderator and Panelist Bios:

Moderator Carine Jocelyn is a non-profit executive and leader with more than 25 years of experience working in human services as an accomplished administrator, trainer, and program officer. She is the Principal of CJ Consulting which focuses on supporting organizations with technical assistance, capacity building, and executive coaching. Ms. Jocelyn has over 15 years of experience working in Haiti. In 2007, she established a community health center in Port au Prince, which continues to be locally operated, and served as the Executive Director of Profamil, a leading provider of family planning and sexual and reproductive Health in Haiti, in 2014. In 2017, she founded The Haitian Women’s Collective to continue her commitment to Haiti and to women and girls, and is currently working to launch a Fund for Haitian Women in 2025. Ms. Jocelyn has been elected to the Board of Directors to Beyond Borders, We Prosper Coalition, and The Support Center for Nonprofit Management in New York, and served as the most recent board chair of the Haiti Adolescent Girls Network, known for their internationally recognized model of safe spaces for girls.

Panelist Souzen Joseph is a Haitian-born journalist, TV producer, and feminist activist, who has dedicated her career to advancing culture, education, women’s rights, and gender equality. With over 16 years of collaboration with Haitian National Television, she has established herself as a prominent voice in media and advocacy. Currently, Souzen serves as the Executive Director of 100 % Fanm, a Haitian feminist organization that focuses on empowering women farmers through targeted programs and initiatives, and has worked extensively with other humanitarian and human rights organizations, including the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in Haiti. Her work is deeply rooted in addressing critical issues such as sexual and reproductive health, social justice, equitable education, women’s and girls’ empowerment, climate change, migration, and displacement.

Panelist Laura Nyirinkindi is the Chair of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls (UN WGDAWG), which she joined in November 2023. She is a Senior Managing Consultant of Pro Initiatives Agency, a human rights firm based in Uganda and has assumed leadership positions in civil society organisations in Africa, Europe and America as a means to mainstream women’s rights in the human rights movement. As a specialist in women’s rights, gender equality, governance, and the rule of law, Ms. Nyirinkindi served on the African Development Bank’s Civil Society Committee, where she advocated for gender inclusive socio-economic development on the continent, and is currently the Africa Regional Vice President of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (Federación Internacional de Abogadas), where she promotes transboundary advocacy and common action around shared values and objectives on the rights of women and girls globally.

Panelist Lucia D. Pascale Solages is a prominent figure in feminist activism and grassroots organizing, renowned for her dedication to advancing the rights of Haitian women and girls through her leadership of NÈGÈS MAWON, one of Haiti’s foremost feminist organizations. Pascale is likewise engaged in broader feminist advocacy globally through consultancies with prominent feminist organizations like Black Feminist Future, Equality Fund, South Feminist Future, and EQUIPOP as well as UNFPA, Plan International, and World Vision. With over a decade of commitment, Pascale has been a driving force in advocating for reproductive justice, ending violence against women, and promoting their active participation in public life.

Panelist Nathalie Vilgrain is a Haitian-Canadian feminist activist committed to social justice, local organization capacity-building, and feminist philanthropy. She is the co-founder and first General Coordinator of Haitian feminist organization MARIJÀN. She also serves as the President of the Board of Directors of Harambec, a feminist organization that supports the empowerment of Black communities in Canada, and has collaborated with various feminist organizations advocating for women’s political representation, the rights of sex workers, LGBTQI communities, and the inclusion of women in municipal governance.

RSVP to attend, get involved, or request a recording!

 And please help spread the word about the event!