On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Kofi Annan Foundation was proud to co-host the Geneva screening of Norma – A Quest for Justice, a powerful documentary that tells the true story of Norma Andrade, a courageous Mexican mother turned madre buscadora (fighting mother) following the murder of her daughter Alejandra in Ciudad Juárez in 2001.
For decades now, Norma has sought justice for the thousands of women and girls who have been assassinated since 1993. Today, after 23 years of tireless advocacy, she is awaiting a historic ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. If successful, her case will mark only the second time the Court has addressed a feminicide case since 2009.
The film Norma serves as both a testament to one mother’s unrelenting pursuit of justice and an indictment of the global failure to criminalise and prevent violence against women and girls. According to a 2023 report by UNODC and UN Women, nearly 89,000 women and girls were intentionally killed in 2022—the highest number recorded in two decades.
The event opened with remarks from Corinne Momal-Vanian, Executive Director of the Kofi Annan Foundation; Koen Van Acoleyen, Minister Counsellor of the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the United Nations in Geneva; and Brigitte Leoni, the film’s director and founder of Parva Productions.
Following the screening, Corinne Momal-Vanian moderated a compelling panel discussion featuring:
- Norma Andrade, protagonist of the film and co-founder of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa A.C., a Mexican nonprofit of mothers whose daughters were victims of feminicide in Ciudad Juárez;
- Adriana Quiñones, Head of Human Rights and Development and Deputy Head of the UN Women Geneva Office;
- Alessia Nicastro, PhD candidate in International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Gender Centre.
Norma’s lawyer, Karla Micheel Salas Ramírez, as well as director Brigitte Leoni, were also present to engage with the audience.
This event was made possible thanks to the collaboration between the Kofi Annan Foundation, UN Women, Festival FILMAR en América Latina, the Edelstam Foundation, and with the support of the Spotlight Initiative, the Permanent Mission of Belgium to the United Nations in Geneva, and the Service Agenda 21-Ville durable of the City of Geneva, as part of the Campagne 25 novembre – Genève.
At the Kofi Annan Foundation, we stand in solidarity with all those who fight to end violence against women and girls. Norma’s story reminds us that justice, though delayed, must never be denied.
