Gunhild Vehusheia
Who was the chair of Norwegian Women's Lobby from 2016 to 2017?
Norwegian Womens Lobby The Norwegian Womens Lobby ( NWL ; ) is a politically independent human rights political advocacy organisation , and is the umbrella organisation for the Norwegian womens rights organisations . Its principal aim is to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls on the basis of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women , the Beijing Platform for Action and other fundamental international agreements relating to womens human rights . It works to integrate womens perspectives into all political , economical and social processes . The Norwegian Womens Lobby has ten member organizations and was founded in 2014 by the Norwegian womens organisations on the initiative of Torild Skard , the former chairman of UNICEF , and in accordance with the recommendations of the government-appointed Gender Equality Commission . The current president is Ragnhild Hennum , Professor of Public Law and former pro-rector of the University of Oslo . History and organisation . The Norwegian Womens Lobby was founded on 27 January 2014 by eight nationwide womens rights organisations . The establishment followed several years of prior discussion in the Norwegian womens movement , where Torild Skard , the former chairman of UNICEF , had been the key proponent for the establishment . The organisation currently has ten member organisations . Its establishment was in accordance with the recommendations of the government-appointed Gender Equality Commission ( chaired by Hege Skjeie ) of 2010 . It is modelled after similar organisations in other countries , particularly the Swedish Womens Lobby and the European Womens Lobby at the EU level . The first president was Margunn Bjørnholt and the first vice president was Fakhra Salimi . In 2017 Ragnhild Hennum , the pro-rector of the University of Oslo and a professor of public law , was elected president of the organisation . Hennum was also the director of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights in 2018 . The organisation aims to promote womens human rights , based on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women , the Beijing Platform for Action and other fundamental international agreements . Its member organisations include all the significant womens rights organisations of Norway and have been championing womens human rights since 1884 ; the founding organisations were described by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud Sunniva Ørstavik as the very foundation of the efforts to promote womens rights in Norway . As a civil society umbrella organisation , the Norwegian Womens Lobby only accepts nonpartisan organisations as members . The Norwegian Womens Lobby is led by an elected political leadership , the executive board . The organisation is advised by an independent body of experts , the Expert Committee . The Norwegian Womens Lobby has a particular focus on the United Nations system and prepares shadow reports to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on Norways implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ; the 2017 report was coordinated by Supreme Court Justice Karin Bruzelius , a member of the Norwegian Womens Lobbys expert committee . The first Norwegian NGO CEDAW shadow report was initiated by the Norwegian Association for Womens Rights during Torild Skards tenure as president , and the Norwegian Womens Lobbys reports represent a continuation of that work . Most of the member organisations are also participating in the Forum for Women and Development , which focuses on development issues in the Global South . The Norwegian Womens Lobby by contrast has a broader focus on womens issues nationally and internationally . In 2018 the Norwegian Womens Lobby and five other key NGOs organised the customary torchlight parade in Oslo in honour of that years Nobel Peace Prize laureates , Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad , who were awarded the prize for their work to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war . The Norwegian Womens Lobby receives funding from the centre-left city government of Oslo . Member organisations . - Norwegian Association for Womens Rights ( NKF ) - MiRA Resource Centre for Black , Immigrant and Refugee Women ( MiRA-Senteret ) - Legal Aid for Women ( JURK ) - Norwegian Female Lawyers Association ( NKJF ) - Secretariat of the Shelter Movement ( Krisesentersekretariatet ) - Womens International League for Peace and Freedom Norway - Nordic Womens University ( NWU ) - Womens Front of Norway - Feminist Group Ottar - Sámi Womens Network ( SNF ) Presidents . 1 . Margunn Bjørnholt ( 2014–2016 ) , research professor at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies and president of the Norwegian Association for Womens Rights 2 . Gunhild Vehusheia ( 2016–2017 ) , attorney-at-law , former executive director of Legal Aid for Women 3 . Ragnhild Hennum ( 2017– ) , Professor of Public Law , pro-rector of the University of Oslo and director of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights Expert Committee on Womens and Gender Equality Policies . The Expert Committee on Womens and Gender Equality Policies is a permanent body of experts tasked with making policy recommendations in fields that affect women and girls and gender equality , and works under the sponsorship of the Norwegian Womens Lobby . The expert committee is chaired by professor of sociology Cathrine Holst . The additional members of the committee are supreme court justice Karin Bruzelius , professor of gender studies Beatrice Halsaa , professor of public law Anne Hellum , professor of history Eirinn Larsen and professor of political science Hege Skjeie , the former chair of the government-appointed Gender Equality Commission .