International Day of Women Judges 2024

That the Parliament recognises the International Day of Women Judges, which took place on 10 March 2024 and seeks to highlight what it sees as the significant under-representation of women in the judiciary, particularly in senior judicial leadership positions; notes that the decision to proclaim this International Day was made by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2021; considers that greater representation of women in the judiciary can help to increase accountability, disrupt networks of collusion, bring about more victim-centred responses to crime and inspire the next generation of female judges; believes that women judges can be active agents for change, such as Judge Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar, President of the High-Risk Court of Guatemala, who heard the Sepur Zarco case, in which, it understands, two former military officers were convicted of crimes against humanity on counts of rape, murder and slavery, following the systematic exploitation of indigenous Q’eqchi’ women from 1982 until 1988; recognises and commends the work of the Global Judicial Integrity Network of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which brings together female judges to learn from each other's lived experiences and provide a source of solidarity, and commits to promoting the full and equal participation of women at all levels of the judiciary, both in Scotland and throughout the world.