Hemispheric Forum Women’s Leadership for a Citizens’ Democracy

Elizabeth Abi-Mershed Assistant Executive Secretary Inter-American Commission on Human Rights As Assistant Executive Secretary of the IACHR, Dr.. In 1994, he joined the Inter-American De

Hemispheric Forum: Women’s Leadership for a Citizens’ Democracy

April 4-6, 2011 Washington, D.C

Biographies of the Panelists

Elizabeth Abi-Mershed

Assistant Executive Secretary

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

As Assistant Executive Secretary of the IACHR,

Dr Abi-Mershed examines and handles cases before the Commission, writes reports, and participates in the litigation of cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights She also supports the work of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women A specialist in women’s rights, she teaches at the Washington College of Law at American University Since 1992, Dr Abi-Mershed has been a principal specialist in human rights at the OAS IACHR She is

a graduate of the Washington College of Law and Georgetown University and has published several articles on the human rights of women

Kenny D Anthony

Former Prime Minister and opposition leader, Saint Lucia

Kenny Anthony is an attorney specializing in constitutional law A graduate in government and history, he has worked in the educational, academic, and political arenas Before assuming the leadership of his country, Dr Anthony worked at the Ministry of Education and Culture, including as Minister of Education; at the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus); at the Secretariat and Office of the General Counsel of CARICOM; and as leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party He served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 1997

to 2006 and is the present opposition leader Dr Anthony has published numerous articles on law in the Caribbean

Line Barreiro

Expert at the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Line Barreiro is coordinator of the CEDAW indicators development group for Paraguay and the National Coordinator for Disability Rights (CONAPRODIS) She has been a professor of masters’ studies on gender at the University Studies Center of San Simón University in Cochabamba (Bolivia), the University of Costa Rica, San Andrés University in La Paz (Bolivia), the Complutense Institute of International Studies in Madrid (Spain), and the Central American University in Managua (Nicaragua) She also served as coordinator, representing the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR), of the initiative

to ratify the CEDAW Optional Protocol in Central America

Cynthia Barrow-Giles

Lecturer in Political Sciences, University of the West Indies

Cynthia Barrow-Giles sits on the Saint Lucia Constitutional Reform Commission and the international advisory board of the journal

Round Table Political scientist and lecturer

in her field at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Ms Barrow-Giles has served

as assistant rector of the Faculty of Social Sciences at UWI and Director of the Department of Government, Sociology, and Social Work She is widely published on various topics, including Caribbean politics and women’s participation in Caribbean political life She served as a member of the expert team of the Office of the Commonwealth in monitoring the Sri Lanka elections of 2008-2009 and has participated in numerous OAS electoral observer missions in the Caribbean

Gillian M S Bristol

Ambassador to the US and Permanent Representative of Grenada to the Organization of American States

In May 2009, Gillian Bristolwas appointed by the Government of Grenada as its

Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, as well as its Permanent Representative to the OAS In August 2010,

Ms Bristol was also accredited as Grenada’s non–resident Ambassador to Mexico Previously, Ms Bristol held a number of positions within the General Secretariat of the OAS, including Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary General, Committee Secretary responsible for hemispheric security-related matters, and specialized programmatic work with the Inter– American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) Ms Bristol is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, with degrees in languages and law

Fernando Carrillo Flores

Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank in Brazil

Fernando Carrillo Flores earned his master’s degree in law and public finance at Harvard University He won the First National Law and Economics Competition in 1988 and has worked in those two fields throughout his public, professional, and academic career After being among the leaders of the student movement for the “seventh ballot” that gave rise to the 1991 Colombian Constitution; a presidential adviser; a member of the Constituent Assembly; and Minister of Justice, he returned to Harvard University to pursue a doctorate in political economics and government In 1994, he joined the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, where he has led efforts to place democracy and political and judicial reform on the Latin American economic development agenda

Sheila Copps

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Canada

A journalist by profession, Shelia Copps was first elected to the Canadian Parliament in 1984 She has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (1993-1997), and, on different occasions,

Communications, Multiculturalism and Citizenship, Sports, and Canadian Heritage Throughout her career, Ms Copps has been a defender of women’s rights She is on the advisory board of Equal Voice, a Canadian NGO that fights for women’s political citizenship Since concluding her political career, Ms Copps has been

a columnist for a variety of Canadian periodicals and host of a radio program

María del Rocío García Gaytán

President of the CIM, 2011-2012

President of the National Women’s Institute, Mexico

Rocío García Gaytán was appointed President of the National Women’s Institute (Inwomen) of Mexico in February 2007 In her career, she has served as delegate of the State of Jalisco to Congress, where she promoted the formation of the Committee on Equity and Gender and legislation against gender-based violence Beginning in 2002, she headed the Jalisco Women’s Institute, where she implemented the “women’s line” and the on-site assistance program to guide and advise women on matters such

as violence in the family, education, health, and labor She was a federal delegate to the 57th Legislature of the Mexican Congress, where she served as Secretary of the Committee on Equity and Gender and member of the Committee on Population, Borders, and Migration

Narda Solanda Goyes Quelal

Specialist, Ágora Democrática/IDEA International

Juris Doctor, with a degree in Public and

Social Sciences from the Central University

of Ecuador, Solanda Goyes has worked for over 13 years in the legislative process, policy monitoring, the institutionalization of human rights in the electoral arena and the justice sector, and the generation of public policy fostering equality between men and women She has served as adviser to the National Congress of the Republic and adviser to the 2008

Constituent Assembly of Ecuador She presently works at Ágora Democrática (IDEA - NIMD) and at the Ecuadorean office of IDEA

International, where she promotes multiparty dialogue among political party leaders and the Parliamentary Group for Women’s Rights in Ecuador

Pablo Gutiérrez

Director, Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation, OAS Secretariat for Political Affairs

Pablo Gutiérrez is Director of the Department

of Electoral Cooperation and Observation of the OAS Previously, Mr Gutiérrez served as Chief of Cabinet of the General Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of Chile during the administration of Ricardo Lagos Escobar From October 2003 to May 2006, he was Chief of Cabinet of the Office of the Vice President and Ministry of the Interior In

1996, he was elected president of the Student Federation of the Central University for a one-year term and served as spokesperson for the Confederation of University Students of Chile Attorney by profession, Mr Gutiérrez studied security and national defense at the National Academy of Strategic Studies of Chile He is a candidate for a master’s degree in constitutional law at the Catholic University

Begoña Lasagabaster

Political Advisor, Leadership and Political Participation Section

UN Women

Since 2008, Begoña Lasagabaster has worked

as a specialist and advisor on women’s leadership and political participation at the United Nations, first with UNIFEM and currently with UN Women Prior to that she served as Representative for Guipúzcoa en the Congress of Deputies of Spain, where she held the position of spokesperson for the Commissions of the Interior, Justice, External Affairs, Constitutional Affairs, Budgets and Regulations, Public Administration, Mixed Commission (Congress-Senate) for the European Union, and Development Cooperation and Aid A lawyer

by training, Ms Lasagabaster specialized in community law, civil law and private international law as a graduate of the University of Salamanca and the College of Europe

Sara Lovera López

Comunicaciones, Educación y Desarrollo para la Igualdad

Schooled in journalism, social work, adult education, State theory and agricultural Communications, Sara Lovera López has worked for more than 40 years in print, electronic and virtual media in order to bring attention to the human rights of women Ms Lovera has founded several networks of journalists with a gender perspective (national, Latin American, Caribbean and international),

as well as feminist news agencies, including SEMlac, Cimacnoticias (Mexico), La Independiente (Catalonia) and Amecopress (Madrid) She is currently affiliated with Comunicación, Educación y Desarrollo para la Igualdad (CEDI) and has published extensively on the issue of women and journalism

Otilia Lux de Cot

Delegate, Congress of Guatemala

Otilia Lux de Cotí is one of the delegates to the Congress of Guatemala with the most experience in gender issues Activist and promoter of the law against femicide and other forms of violence against women, she

is a Mayan woman who has twice served as vice president of the Women’s Commission She has been a member of the Commission for the Historical Investigation of Human Rights Violations and Acts of Violence in Guatemala and has participated in the Executive Council of the Political Association of Mayan Women (MOJOJ), the Forum for Social Equality, and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Rose Mary Madden Arias

Special Program on the Human Rights of Women

Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR)

Since 2010, Ms Madden has been in charge

of the Program on the Human Rights of Women at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, where she has placed special emphasis on educating women about human rights Until May 2010, she was a member

of the team against sexual harassment at the Women’s Studies Center (CIEM) at the University of Costa Rica She has participated in drafting a number of laws, such as the law on domestic violence, the law on responsible fatherhood, and the criminal law on violence against women, among others She was an official delegate of the Government of Costa Rica to the expanded leadership of ECLAC in Santiago, Chile, and at the third preparatory meeting for the Fourth World Conference on Women

Luz Patricia Mejia

Commission member, Rapporteur on the Rights Women

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)

Luz Patricia Mejía is the current Rapporteur on the Rights of Women and a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a post she assumed on March 4, 2008 Previously she served as First Vice President of the IACHR in

2008 and President in 2009, and as Director of Legal Advisory Services for the Public Prosecutor

of Venezuela She has also worked in the Office

of Defenders of the People in that country, serving as Director of Judicial Resources and later as Director General of Legal Services She was a cowriter of the Law to Protect Victims, Witnesses, and Other Parties to Legal Proceedings, of the Organic Law

on the Office of Defenders of the People, and of the Organic Law on the Citizens’ Branch of Government She has published research and specialized articles on various topics

Mia A Mottley

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Barbados

Mia Amor Mottley, an attorney by profession, was recognized by Essence magazine as one

of 100 emerging leaders of the 21st century

Ms Mottley served as senator for the opposition in the upper house in Barbados and later as Minister of Education, Youth, and Culture after her election to Parliament in Barbados She also chaired the Committee of Ministers of Education of CARICOM and was the first female Attorney General of Barbados She has also served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Development responsible for international trade and as Governor of the Caribbean Development Bank, of the Inter-American Development Bank, and of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development From 2008

to 2010, Ms Mottley served as the first woman to lead the opposition

in Barbados

José Antonio Ocampo

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

José Antonio Ocampo is an instructor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Until mid-2007, he was Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Economic and Social Affairs In that position, he led the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and chaired the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs Previously, he served as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and in various positions in the government of his country, Colombia, including in the Ministries of the Treasury, Public Credit, and Agriculture Mr Ocampo is the author of numerous books and articles on macroeconomic theory and policy, economic development, international trade, and economic history

Daniela Payssé

Delegate to the Parliament of Uruguay and President of the Special Committee on Gender and Equity

President of the Special Committee on Gender and Equity, member of the Human Rights Committee, member of the Women’s Bicameral Caucus, member of the Committee

on the Status of Women of the Uruguay Assembly, member of the Parliamentary Group for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, member of the MERCOSUR Parliament, member of the Citizenship and Human Rights Committee, and member of the Network of Women Politicians of Uruguay, Ms Payssé has represented the Uruguayan Parliament at countless seminars and conferences on domestic violence, equal opportunity, and women’s political participation