H.R.H. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg and Chékéba Hachemi were invited to the Paris Bar (Ordre des avocats de Paris). They were accompanied by Tatiana Mukanire, Survivor and administrator of Stand Speak Rise Up!, who had come specially from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Together, they took part in an exceptional conference on the theme of rape as a weapon of war. The event was part of the International Day for Women’s Rights.

The high-level session included the Bâtonnier and Vice-Bâtonnière of Paris. Also present were Isabelle Rome, former French Minister for Equality between Women and Men, Céline Bardet of the NGO We are NOT Weapons Of War and director of Stand Speak Rise Up! as well as lawyers and reporters. These experts gathered victims’ testimonies and redefined rape in the light of European issues.

Listening to the victims

HRH the Grand Duchess and Chékéba Hachemi discussed the advocacy work of Stand Speak Rise Up! They also presented concrete projects in the field for Survivors and children born of rape. Tatiana Mukanire’s poignant testimony moved the assembly, illustrating the reality experienced by Survivors.

The next panel focused on gathering victims’ testimony and preserving evidence. Céline Bardet, jurist and international criminal investigator, Michele Hirsch, criminal lawyer, and Laura-Maï Gaveriaux, reporter, led the discussion.

Finally, H.R.H. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, described by the Vice-Bâtonnière as “a model of combat for all“, thanked the Bar for its initiative. She praised the remarkable commitment of the participants and appealed: “We need to come together to finally put an end not only to rape as a weapon of war, but also to all systematic violence against women, which continues to be swept under the carpet”.