Press and Publications

A potentially precedent-setting petition at the International Criminal Court could help human rights advocates and survivors of gender-based crimes in conflict.

In Iraq, including in areas controlled by ISIS, women, girls, LGBTIQ people, and those otherwise perceived as stepping outside of traditional gender roles have been targeted for violence on a staggering scale. 

In the year ahead, you’ll keep going beyond resistance, through MADRE. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ll accomplish together.

Happy New Year and Happy 35th Anniversary to MADRE! We are honored and delighted to write to you today, as the Co-Chairs of MADRE's Board of Directors, to kick off our celebration of MADRE's 35 incredible years of advancing women's human rights and working to build a world of equality, justice and peace for all!

 

Israel has announced a blacklist of 20 organizations barred from entering the country -- targeted because of their support of the tactic of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) to end unjust Israeli policies.

This year, MADRE’s Helping Hands program delivered life-saving medicines and health supplies to Indigenous communities in Nicaragua as well as prescription eyeglasses to families struggling with lack of healthcare coverage in the US.

Three organizations announced a petition on Wednesday asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring charges against ISIS for persecuting the people under its control on the basis of gender — including the public execution of men alleged to be gay. The petition is being submitted to the ICC by the New York-based women’s rights group Madre, the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), and City University of New York School of Law. It will be formally presented Wednesday afternoon at an event with ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

 

A petition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding ISIS crimes will be the first of its kind, seeking to advance protection of the rights of women and LGBTIQ people on the international stage. Filed jointly by three non-governmental organizations—MADRE, the Human Rights and Gender Justice (HRGJ) Clinic of the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, and the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI)—the petition makes the case that the International Criminal Court should prosecute ISIS fighters for crimes they have committed on the basis of gender, including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In response to an urgent call from Afro-Descendant and Indigenous organizations in Colombia, human rights advocates from around the world signed an open letter, calling on the Colombian government to respect gender and racial justice provisions of Colombia’s peace accord.

For decades, Colombia's armed conflict has pitted government and right-wing paramilitary groups against anti-government guerrillas. After many previous attempts at negotiating a lasting peace, the Colombian government and FARC, an armed rebel group, finally reached an agreement in 2016. We spoke with Colombian women and girls to find out what peace in Colombia means to them. 

Afro-Descendant and Indigenous organizations in Colombia have issued an urgent call for solidarity at this critical moment in Colombia’s peace implementation process. 

By supporting local women’s organizations, from Nepal to Texas, we make sure that the most vulnerable people — like pregnant women, new mothers and newborns, and people with disabilities — get the care they need.