Event co-organized by UBERN team and IIR team
On 18 February 2026, a dissemination event took place at the United Nations in Geneva, co-organized by the UBERN and IIR teams, to present the final outputs and key findings of the HRJust project to members of the CEDAW Committee.
The event created an opportunity to engage directly with an important international monitoring body and to discuss how the project’s research can contribute to ongoing work on gender equality and non-discrimination. The presentation introduced HRJust as a Horizon Europe-funded project examining how states rely on human rights justifications in shaping policy and regulatory decisions, with a particular focus on gender and intersectionality.
The discussion was focused on four main thematic areas. First, it highlighted the role of gender and intersectionality in human rights justifications, presenting the project’s key research outputs as well as its broader academic and policy engagement. Second, the ODCSE methodology was presented as an innovative tool to support inclusive and gender-responsive policy analysis, emphasizing the central role of civil society participation. Third, the discussion addressed the need for more inclusive and participatory democratic processes, particularly in light of the limitations of traditional representative systems. Finally, the Intersect Observatory was introduced as an innovative digital repository designed to consolidate and disseminate research, tools, and resources on gender and intersectionality.
Overall, the event fostered a constructive exchange with CEDAW Committee, highlighting the relevance of HRJust’s findings for current debates on gender stereotypes, climate justice, and participatory governance. It also strengthened the project’s engagement with international institutional actors and contributed to enhancing the visibility and policy impact of its results.
The presentation of HRJust at the CEDAW session offers the Committee access to new tools and evidence to support gender-responsive policymaking. The project’s insights can contribute to ongoing discussions on gender stereotypes, climate justice, and participatory governance, while informing future recommendations and implementation strategies.
Images by konferenzadhs from Pixabay