UNITED NATIONS, Mar 18 (APP): The Pakistan Mission to the U.N. will be hosting an event on Monday afternoon that is aimed at spotlighting the plight of women and girls in situations of foreign occupation.

The side event, which is part of the ongoing 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), is set to take place at UN Headquarters in New York.

It will include a panel discussion on the subject “Women Under Foreign Occupation” to be attended by members of the UN diplomatic community, women rights organizations, academia, and rights activists.

Officials said that speakers will share their perspectives and insights on the suffering of women braving the rigours of foreign occupation, armed conflicts and the usurpation of fundamental rights.

Throughout history, women have borne significant burdens during the periods of settler-colonialism and the movements for self-determination and liberation from foreign control, a concept paper pointed out, noting that even in modern times, women and girls remain particularly vulnerable to the oppressive tactics often associated with foreign occupation and intervention in the struggles for freedom.

“In the realm of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda, empirical data underscores that the most severe forms of violence and violations against women and girls occur within contexts of foreign occupation,” it said.

The panel discussion will provide an opportunity to not only highlight the hardships and sufferings of women facing the situations of foreign occupation but also stress the need for a more robust and uniform implementation of international humanitarian and human rights law such as an additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention, the United Nations Security Council resolutions and Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.