On March 18, 2025, Ewa Rejman, a J.S.D. candidate at Notre Dame Law School [and a Nanovic Institute graduate fellow], spoke at an event at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on motherhood in today’s world. The panel was sponsored and organized by the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and was attended by more than 130 diplomats, delegates, and members of non-governmental organizations.
Rejman’s presentation focused on the international legal framework for the protection of motherhood, which includes the principles of non-discrimination, non-retrogression, and the concept of the core content of the right, which must be upheld at all times. This framework, as she explained, must necessarily be accompanied by a method for determining specific protections. Such a method requires assessing the realities mothers face in light of corresponding human rights and adjusting the measures to address their special and additional needs in an adequate way. She also discussed the reasons for establishing motherhood protections, including the vulnerability of mothers and the understanding of motherhood as part of the common good, which gives rise to obligations on the part of society.
The purpose of the event was to highlight aspects of women’s rights that seem to be receiving insufficient attention in international debates and scholarship. Serving as a global agenda for women’s equality, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action itself underscores the contributions of women, including mothers, to society and calls for supporting them in their various roles. Rejman’s presentation stressed that such support is not solely a matter of goodwill efforts, but also a legal requirement.
Rejman is a J.S.D. candidate and Polish human rights lawyer who obtained her LL.M. degree in International Human Rights Law from Notre Dame Law School in 2023. She also has a master’s degree in law from the University of Wrocław, Poland. Her research focuses on socioeconomic rights, particularly the rights of mothers, the intersection of law and bioethics, and religious freedom.
Originally published by at law.nd.edu on March 28, 2025. Comment by Keith Sayer, April 3, 2025.