Monaco will welcome France’s Ambassador for Human Rights, Isabelle Lonvis-Rome, on Thursday, November 20 for a full day of exchanges organised by the Comité pour la promotion et la protection des droits des femmes. Her visit lands just days ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and reinforces the Principality’s ongoing push to strengthen cross-border cooperation on women’s rights and anti-violence initiatives.
Lonvis-Rome, appointed in April 2024 and tasked in part with upholding international memory of the Shoah and wartime spoliations, arrives with a résumé that could give a seasoned diplomat whiplash. A former Minister Delegate for Equality between Women and Men, Diversity and Equal Opportunities (2022–2023), she is also a magistrate who has presided over criminal assize courts, overseen justice-ministry initiatives on gender equality and coordinated France’s 2019 national action on domestic violence. She currently serves as First President of Chamber at the Versailles Court of Appeal.
Her long-running advocacy includes founding the association Femmes de libertés in 2003, leading drug-addiction and refugee-support initiatives, chairing the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction, and championing online civility through the NGO Respect Zone. Her humanitarian work has taken her to Rwanda and Macedonia, and she has contributed as an expert to UNODC projects. As minister, she presented France’s Universal Periodic Review to the UN Human Rights Council in 2023 and represented the country at G7 gender-equality meetings. She also chaired the adoption of the EU’s “Women on Boards” directive during France’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
In Monaco, Lonvis-Rome will meet representatives of government institutions, public services and member associations of the Comité. Discussions will centre on policies implemented in both Monaco and France to prevent and combat violence against women, with a particular emphasis on sharing best practices—an area where both countries are keen to compare notes rather than compete.
The visit will conclude with a public conference at Lycée Rainier III at 18:00, where Lonvis-Rome will outline current challenges in tackling gender-based violence and the priorities that lie ahead. Given her track record—and her knack for speaking plainly about uncomfortable truths—the Principality can expect a forthright and informed assessment of what must come next.
