Day Two - Session 5: Rehabilitation, assistance and support

Katarzyna Janicka-Pawlowska is the European Commission Coordinator for Victims’ Rights. Katarzyna is heading the Victims’ Rights Team in DG Justice and leading on victims’ rights policy, including enforcement of the EU rules, policy development and mainstreaming of the victims’ rights policy. Katarzyna has an LL.M. in European law from the College of Europe, Bruges and a master of law degree of the Warsaw University.

Ms. Iman Abdullah is a Yazidi survivor. She was 13 years old, living in the village of Tal al-Qasab in the Sinjar district of Iraq when she was abducted by Da’esh fighters. Ms. Abdullah is an activist and has participated in a number of conferences. In 2019, she travelled to Mumbai, where she received the Mother Teresa Memorial Award on behalf of the Yazidi Rescue Office, with whom she worked. She is currently a student, as due to the circumstances, she did not have the opportunity to complete school. Ms. Abdullah wants to utilise her voice for all those who are victims of Da’esh. Her aim is to achieve justice, stop violence against women, and sow peace everywhere.

Laura Dolci, Italian, has over 25 years of experience with the United Nations, including in human rights, peace-keeping and managing victim-centered UN voluntary trust funds. On 19 August 2003, Laura lost her husband, Jean-Selim Kanaan, in the terrorist attack against the UN Headquarters in Baghdad that killed 22 UN personnel and injured more than 100. Their baby son was less than one month old. Since, Laura has been an advocate for the rights of victims of terrorism. In 2018, she published a book 'A Victimless Crime?', with the support of the University of Tilburg and the Graduate Institute of Geneva, which sheds light on the specificities of terrorism victimization.

Mr. Parfait Kari Wadjoré was born in Garoua-Boulaï, eastern Cameroon. After obtaining his scientific baccalaureate, he studied economics and management at the University of Ngaoundéré. Since 2013, Mr. Kari Wadjoré has worked in the operations department of one of the largest banks in Cameroon, and has been trained in the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In 2014, he survived a terrorist attack perpetrated by Boko Haram. Mr. Kari Wadjoré is the founder of the Cameroon Association of Victims (ACVT), and is very interested in issues related to victims of terrorism.

Prof. Rivka Tuval-Mashiach is the Chairperson of the Professional Steering Committee and Academic Director of NATAL, the Israel Trauma and Resilience Center for Victims of Terror and War. Prof. Tuval-Mashiach combines clinical work with research. Her research fields include individual, community and collective responses to trauma, trauma narratives, developing therapeutic interventions for traumatized populations, and resilience. She has published extensively on these topics. Throughout her career, Prof. Tuval-Mashiach has gained extensive clinical experience with terror victims and trauma survivors, both in emergency departments and clinics around Israel, and internationally.

Mrs. Julienne Lusenge is of Congolese nationality. She is the President of the Board of Directors of the Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix et le Développement Intégral and Executive Director of the Congolese Women's Fund. She is a gender expert and has received several awards at the national and international level because of her commitment to the defense of women's and girls' rights for more than 20 years. The last three awards she received are: the Woman of Courage Award from the U.S. Department of State, the I-Angel Award for Women's Rights, the ICIP Award from the Catalan Parliament, and the Aurora Award initiated by the survivors of the Armenian Genocide.