Mar 14, 2025

Women’s Leadership in Peacebuilding

Join Israel Women’s Network, NCJW, Itach Ma’aki, and other partners for an important panel as part of the events surrounding the 2025 UN Commission on the Status of Women.

This vital discussion will focus on women’s leadership in peacebuilding and the critical gap in these spaces: women’s voices. We will explore UN Resolution 1325, which mandates women’s inclusion in leadership roles in war and peace processes. Through insights from leaders and activists, the event will examine the unique perspectives women bring to diplomacy and conflict resolution, the barriers they face, and the necessity of their inclusion at centers of decision-making and on negotiation teams to ensure lasting peace.

Speakers:

Prof. Daphna Hacker – Chairwoman of the IWN, expert member of CEDAW

Prof. Hacker is a prominent Israeli feminist leader. A long-time activist, she has pursued a successful academic career while maintaining a life-long commitment to advance the status of women. She began her career as a lawyer at the Israel Women’s Network and later became a board member. In 2022, she was elected by 115 countries to serve, for four years, as an expert member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Prof. Hacker is a full professor at the Law Faculty and the Women and Gender Studies Program at Tel Aviv University. Her research has focused on the intersection of law, families and gender and has been published in three books and prestigious Israeli and international legal and socio-legal journals.

Hanan Alsanah, Esq.

Hanan Alsanah, Esq. is the Co-Executive Director of Itach-Maaki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice, a human rights lawyer, feminist, and social activist from Be’er Sheva, Israel. With over 20 years of experience advocating for women’s rights, Hanan has dedicated her career to empowering Bedouin women and promoting gender equality in traditional Bedouin society. She holds a master’s degree in law.

In 2005, Hanan became the first Bedouin woman to represent her community at the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Her efforts focus on advancing women’s leadership, peacebuilding, and political participation, particularly through the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. She has participated in international seminars and initiatives addressing women’s roles in conflict resolution, emphasizing that women’s participation is essential for achieving sustainable peace.

Hanan’s groundbreaking work includes organizing educational and leadership programs for thousands of Bedouin women and founding initiatives to increase women’s representation in local governance. In 2021, she became the first Bedouin woman to lead a political party, advocating for marginalized communities. Her inspiring story is featured in the 2024 documentary Her War – Hanan.

Kari Reid

Kari is the U.S. Director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, where she serves as ALLMEP’s chief operations officer and senior advocate in the United States. As a core member of the global executive team, Kari works with the Executive Director and regional team in implementing ALLMEP’s worldwide initiatives, including the establishment of a multi-million dollar International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, following the successful enactment of the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA).

Kari has worked as a foreign policy professional and non-profit leader in Washington, D.C. for fifteen years, serving as a foreign affairs advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives and as a policy expert at NGOs focused on global development and international relief efforts. Kari joined ALLMEP from Mercy Corps where she served as Director of Policy and Advocacy, leading the agency’s humanitarian policy work in the Middle East.

Kari holds a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Minnesota and a master in public affairs degree from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She recently completed a certificate for leaders in the foreign policy community at MIT’s Center for International Studies. Kari lives with her husband and two children in Washington, D.C.

WHEN

March 14, 2025
6:30 PM

WHERE

Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN) 8th Floor
New York City