COMMUNITY

Key takeaways from the regional launch of Voices from the Bench in Dakar, Senegal

Women are helping shape international law and justice, yet remain significantly underrepresented in the institutions where some of the world’s most consequential decisions are made. For African women, the barriers are even greater.

On 13 October 2026, alongside the 89th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Dakar, the GQUAL Campaign, together with the Arusha Initiative, the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), UNDP and UN Women, convened Voices from the Bench: African Women Shaping Regional and International Justice.

The event brought together women judges, international experts, representatives of international organizations and civil society to explore the barriers to African women’s equal participation, the contributions they are already making, and the changes needed to support their leadership.

The discussion began with data but moved beyond numbers: What changes when women participate in shaping justice? What prevents them from exercising real influence? And what must States and institutions do differently?

The starting point: A persistent gender gap, compounded by geographical inequalities

Opening the discussion, María Noel Leoni, Co-Founder and Director of GQUAL, presented research illustrating the global persistent underrepresentation of women in international decision-making.

Across the 102 international and regional bodies monitored by GQUAL, women from all over the world occupy fewer than 45% of positions. Even more, this figure conceals significant disparities:

• Women’s representation drops to 40% in positions requiring State nominations, compared with 61% in those that do not (self-nomination), highlighting the role of governments as gatekeepers.
• It falls to 33% in compensated positions.
• And to just 12% in international courts and the International Law Commission, among the most prestigious positions in international law justice.

These inequalities deepen when gender intersects with geography. Women from the Global North are significantly more represented in international positions than women from the Global South. Africa has the lowest proportion of women among its nationals serving in the institutions monitored by GQUAL, at approximately 35.90%.

Recent appointments risk perpetuating these disparities. In 2026, GQUAL monitored appointments to 14 UN Special Procedures open to candidates from all regions. Of the 86 applicants from African countries (36 women and 50 men), only four were shortlisted, and none was appointed. The problem cannot simply be attributed to a lack of qualified or interested candidates.

 At the regional level, the picture is more encouraging, but uneven. The African Human Rights System has made important progress, reaching parity. Yet similar advances have not been achieved in other regional courts, including the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the East African Court of Justice (with only 20% and 10% participation of women, respectively).

 One important difference is that gender representation is explicitly incorporated into the selection rules of African human rights institutions, demonstrating what institutional commitments can achieve.

Building on these findings, Alejandra Vicente, Co-Founder of GQUAL, introduced the Campaign’s efforts to address these barriers, from monitoring vacancies and elections and sharing the GQUAL Toolkit to documenting women’s experiences through Voices from the Bench: Women Shaping International Justice. (Incluir links). 

She highlighted Navi Pillay as an undeniable example of how extraordinary African women have transformed international justice for the entire world, including her groundbreaking contribution to the recognition of rape and sexual violence as acts of genocide. She also celebrated the significance of Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize as recognition of a lifetime dedicated to advancing justice and human rights.

 Pillay’s story is one among many featured in Voices from the Bench, which explores not only the obstacles women face in reaching international positions, but also how their participation has transformed international law, institutional practices and opportunities for others.

 These questions framed a panel discussion moderated by Ibrahima Amadou Niang, Governance Team Leader at UNDP, bringing together Aua Baldé, member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Judge Aïssétou Kanté, Judge, Financial Trial Chamber of Senegal’s Financial Judicial Pool ; Maya Sahli-Fadel, President of Algeria’s National Human Rights Council and former Vice-President of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Catherine Phuong, UNDP Resident Representative in Senegal; and Ikechukwu Uzoma, Co-Chair of the Arusha Initiative. 

Their exchange highlighted five key takeaways on what it will take to advance African women’s meaningful participation and leadership in regional and international justice.

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1.Getting women into international positions is only the beginning. They also need the conditions to succeed.

Aua Baldé, challenged the assumption that increasing women’s representation is sufficient.

 Appointing women is one thing; ensuring that they can exercise their mandates effectively is another.

 Drawing on her experience with UN Special Procedures, Baldé described the extensive workloads, travel, coordination responsibilities and frequently uncompensated nature of these mandates. Experts must balance these demands with their professional responsibilities while safeguarding their independence.

 These challenges, she pointed out, are not gender-neutral. Unequal caregiving responsibilities and professional expectations can make them particularly difficult for women.

 As Baldé emphasized, institutions must recognize the time, resources and support required to exercise these mandates. Otherwise, even progress in representation risks becoming unsustainable.

 She also encouraged African women to apply for international positions, even when they feel they may not meet every requirement. Too often, women hesitate to put themselves forward when they are already highly qualified.

 

2. Women’s participation changes the quality and legitimacy of justice.

 Judge Aïssétou Kanté, Judge at the Financial Trial Chamber of Senegal’s Financial Judicial Pool, illustrated how women’s participation can influence judicial decision-making.

 As the only woman in her chamber, she described how cases involving women entrepreneurs or business owners may require questions and perspectives that would otherwise be overlooked. Different experiences can expand how courts interpret and apply the law.

 But Judge Kanté also raised a question of legitimacy: What does a woman appearing before a court as a victim see when every judge deciding her case is a man?

 Catherine Phuong, UNDP Resident Representative in Senegal, reinforced this point, emphasizing that women’s representation is fundamental to public trust in institutions that make decisions that affect fundamental rights and all individuals. “Just as an entirely male police force would raise questions about representation and public confidence, so should an entirely male judiciary”.

 Representation is not merely symbolic. It affects whose experiences are heard, which questions are asked, how justice is delivered and whether institutions are perceived as legitimate.

 

3. African women are already shaping international law, and their contributions take many forms.

 Maya Sahli-Fadel, President of Algeria’s National Human Rights Council and former Commissioner and Vice-President of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, shared examples from her experience in both African and UN mechanisms, where she was a member of the United Nations Working and Expert Group on People of African Descent.

 Her contributions to international law have been substantial. During her service on the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, she helped advance the proposal for the International Decade for People of African Descent, subsequently proclaimed by the UN General Assembly. At the African Commission, where she served as Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa, her experience as a woman also shaped her engagement with affected communities.

 She recalled receiving testimonies from women in refugee camps and how being a woman helped create the conditions for those experiences to be shared. Her work also contributed to the development of regional standards on nationality and statelessness.

 Aua Baldé offered a complementary perspective: contributing to international law does not always mean developing new legal standards. It can also mean creating spaces for dialogue and cooperation that make existing standards more effective.

 She highlighted her efforts to strengthen collaboration between UN and African human rights mechanisms, including through the Addis Ababa Roadmap.

 Together, these experiences illustrate how African women shape international justice through standard-setting, institutional cooperation and more inclusive engagement with affected communities.

 

4. Parity rules matter. But changing the rules is not the same as changing institutional culture.

 The African human rights system demonstrates that parity can be achieved when explicitly incorporated into institutional frameworks.

 But Ikechukwu Uzoma, Co-Chair of the Arusha Initiative and Senior Staff Attorney at the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, highlighted the limitations of formal rules.

 Even in institutions with parity requirements, these commitments are not always reflected in nomination practices or leadership structures. He pointed to the example of the floating seat, not subject to a specific gender requirement, for which States recently nominated only men. Similarly, parity in institutional membership does not necessarily translate into parity in leadership positions.

 Gender parity must become part of institutional culture, not merely a rule that States follow when required.

 Uzoma also presented the Arusha Initiative’s work to strengthen transparency in African regional judicial appointments, including disseminating information about vacancies, explaining how nomination and selection processes work, and advocating for more open, merit-based procedures. Access to this information is essential to expanding opportunities for qualified candidates, particularly women who may otherwise be excluded from informal networks.

 Formal parity commitments remain an important starting point. Other regional institutions, including the ECOWAS Court of Justice, the East African Court of Justice and the COMESA Court of Justice, could benefit from adopting similar requirements.

 The challenge is to expand parity rules while ensuring they translate into consistent nomination practices, equal leadership opportunities and meaningful participation.

 

5. Building the next generation requires visibility, mentorship and collective action.

 A final theme was the importance of ensuring that progress does not depend on exceptional individual careers.

 Judge Kanté emphasized the role of professional associations and women’s networks, including the Association of Senegalese Women Jurists, the Association of Women Magistrates of Senegal and IAWJ. Beyond providing mentorship and solidarity, these networks advocate for transparent nomination procedures and greater opportunities for women.

 Catherine Phuong stressed the need to begin earlier, in schools and law faculties, encouraging women to envision careers in justice and aspire to leadership positions.

 Although women’s participation in legal education and lower courts has increased, they remain significantly underrepresented in the highest judicial positions.

 Maya Sahli-Fadel similarly emphasized the importance of women’s visibility across the legal profession, academia and diplomacy, including in spaces that influence international nominations.

 Seeing women in these positions helps future generations imagine themselves there.

 As Judge Kanté powerfully expressed, African women are not asking for favors. They are asking for opportunities to contribute their expertise and experiences to making international law and justice better.

 From Dakar: Turning representation into meaningful participation and leadership

 Closing the discussion, Mireille Kamitatu, UN Women Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa, returned to the central message of Voices from the Bench: gender-balanced representation is fundamental to the legitimacy, credibility, effectiveness and quality of international justice.

 She emphasized that the conversation must move beyond identifying barriers toward implementing concrete solutions: institutionalizing parity, strengthening transparent and merit-based nomination processes, investing in national pipelines and mentorship, and building solidarity among women in international justice.

 These priorities require sustained commitments from States, international institutions, professional associations and civil society. They must also address the compounded gender and geographical inequalities that continue to limit African women’s access to international decision-making.