Réttur´s participation at the Open Women´s Forum 2023
Jona Þorey‘s speech on equality, human rights and climate change at the Open Women‘s Forum
On 18 March 2023, the conference Women’s Open Forum took place at Hilton Reykjavik Nordica, where our associate, Jóna Thórey Pétursdótttir, a specialist in human rights and environmental law, was invited to hold a presentation about the connection between equality, human rights and climate change.
The occasion for the conference was that 40 years have passed since the foundation of the Icelandic Women‘s Party, which changed legal and political history in Iceland. This year, however, the focus was inter alia on the interconnectivity between gender equality and climate change, a topic which Jóna Thorey‘s speech address from the standpoint of women‘s rights.
More specifically, Jóna Thórey discussed how the climate crisis has in practice a multiplying effect on other problems facing humanity, including gender inequality and power imbalance. She demonstrated how increased frequency of sudden natural disasters, together with the slow but steady destructive effects of climate change, results in an increase in the number of refugees as well as an increase in human trafficking, gender-based and sexual violence. Furthermore, she discussed how the climate change affects the rights of minority groups and people from races and cultures that have least contributed to the problem. She held that inaction on climate issues increases inequality and that it is important to pay close attention to the conditions and reception of refugees.
Lastly, Jóna Thorey encouraged discussions among the meeting guests about how to counter the negative effects that climate change have on people‘s rights, especially women, and how to ensure that those who are most affected by the negative effects can take part in making decisions about their future and the future of the generations to come.
The forum was covered by the Icelandic media, e.g. here.