The Strongest Link: Book Talk and Panel Discussion

This event combines a book launch, a panel discussion, and an art installation on issues concerning sexual violence in armed conflict, addressing both international and domestic efforts. 

Nearly thirty years after the Kosovo War (1998–1999), survivors of wartime sexual violence continue to live with the consequences of crimes that remain insufficiently acknowledged and inadequately addressed. While the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) established sexual violence as a war crime and a crime against humanity, many survivors found that legal recognition did not necessarily lead to justice and accountability.

Organized in collaboration by the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights of the University of Oslo and the Embassy of Kosovo in Oslo, this event starts exploring these questions through a discussion of the book The Strongest Link: An Oral History of Wartime Rape Survivors in Kosovo (Oxford Oral History Series, 2025) by Anna Di Lellio and Garentina Kraja. Based on extensive oral histories, the book documents the experiences of women who survived sexual violence during the Kosovo War and reflects on the long aftermath of silence, stigma and the search for recognition.

Subsequently, the panel conversation examines the limits of international justice mechanisms in responding to wartime sexual violence and ask what accountability can mean when legal processes are often experienced as incomplete and retraumatizing. It will also consider the importance of testimony and public memory in confronting the enduring marginalization of survivors in post-conflict societies.

The discussion brings together Anna Di Lellio (New York University), Inger Skjelsbæk (University of Oslo), and Geoffrey Nice (former prosecutor at the ICTY), alongside Signe Gilen (Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The conversation will be moderated by Nora Sveaass, former member of the UN Committee against Torture and founder of Mental Health and Human Rights Info.

The event will also feature the art installation Thinking of You by Alketa Xhafa-Mripa, a widely recognized installation dedicated to survivors of wartime sexual violence which will be in Oslo June 17 to the 29 outside the Nobel Peace Center and Torggata. The art installation "Thinking of You" will be presented, offering a visual and immersive dimension that underscores the personal and collective impact of conflict-related sexual violence. Together, the book launch, the panel discussion, and the art installation, create a space for reflection, remembrance and dialogue.

This event is organized by the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, and the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo at the Kingdom of Norway

Program

• Welcome by H.E. Dr. Nita Luci, Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Norway

• Introduction by Professor Inger Skjelsbæk, Centre for Gender Studies, University of Oslo

• Presentation of "Thinking of You", by Alketa Xhafa-Mripa, a widely recognized installation dedicated to survivors of wartime sexual violence which will be in Oslo June 17 to the 29 outside the Nobel Peace Center and Torggata.

• Book presentation by Anna Di Lellio

Panel discussion

• Geoffrey Nice, International criminal lawyer, expert in human rights and international law

• Anna Di Lellio, Co-author, Adjunct Professor, MAIR, New York University

• Inger Skjelsbæk, Professor at Centre for Gender Studies, University of Oslo

• Signe Gilen, Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Moderator: Nora Sveaass, Professor Emeritus at UIO, Director of Mental Health and Human Rights Info, former Member of the UN Committee against Torture, since 2005, re-elected in 2009.

• Concluding remarks, Nora Sveaass

• Art Installation Walkthrough: 15 minutes – audience guided through "Thinking of You".