Contributor(s): Muna Luqman, Fatou Bensouda, Hamsatu Allamin | Focusing on the escalating violence and ongoing kidnappings of women and girls in Nigeria and the continued targeting of civilians in Yemen, for this fourth session of the Coming of Age of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda series Sanam Naraghi Anderlini will be in conversation with Hamsatu Allamin, founder of the Allamin Foundation for Peace Development in Maidugiri, Nigeria; Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC); and Muna Luqman, leading peacebuilder and founder of Food4Humanity in Yemen.

Reflecting on their personal experiences and journeys into their fields of expertise, this discussion will draw attention to the growing challenge of failed governance by states, the emergence of ungoverned and ‘alternatively governed’ spaces, and the implications for civilians. The panellists will also discuss the role of the ICC when states are implicated in violence against their own citizens, and what can be done when the state is absent and new entities emerge, with no respect for international norms.

Meet our speakers and chair

Hamsatu Allamin is an educator by profession, with 32 years’ experience in teaching, public administration, and project management. She is a gender activist and human rights defender, who initiated the creation of the Network of Civil Society for Peace in Borno and Yobe states in Nigeria.

Fatou Bensouda is the first woman to serve as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), having assumed office in 2012. In 2011, she was elected by consensus by the Assembly of States Parties to serve in this capacity. Through her work, she has strived to advance accountability for atrocity crimes, highlighting in particular the importance of addressing traditionally underreported crimes such as sexual and gender-based crimes, mass atrocities against and affecting children, as well as the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage within the Rome Statute framework.

Muna Luqman (@munaluqman) is the Founder and Chairperson of Food4humanity. She is an activist for women, peace and security; co-founder of the Women Solidarity Network; and member of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership.

Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini (@sanambna) is the Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security.

More about this event

The Centre for Women, Peace and Security (@LSE_WPS) is a leading academic space for scholars, practitioners, activists, policy-makers and students to develop strategies to promote justice, human rights and participation of women in conflict-affected situations around the world.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEWPS