Regional women meeting in Beirut to address the situation of women in war

Kafa (Enough Violence and Exploitation) organization held last Saturday a regional women meeting in Beirut entitled ‘Civil Society and Challenges of Failure to Protect Women’. The event was organized in collaboration with the Iraqi Amal Association, the Syrian Women League, Al Asfari Center for Civil Society and Citizenship and the Arab Institute for Human Rights and with the support of ‘Kvinna till Kvinna. The meeting which was attended by women and men representatives of women and human rights organizations from some 13 Arab countries discussed obstacles facing the protection of women, especially in the context of wars and armed conflicts. Participants discussed strategies to protect human rights and the rights of women, as well as the local and global difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention of Human Rights and related mechanisms in the Arab World. They agreed to develop networking efforts and to joint action between feminist and women organizations at the national, regional and international levels, in order to develop a regional strategy that combat violence and discrimination against women. The proposed strategy is expected to aim at the following: 1) bridge the gaps in legislations and constitutions in accordance with international conventions and agreements; 2) work towards transitional justice which will take into account gender issues, especially the victims of sexual abuse during and after an armed conflict, and 3) guarantee the freedom of action of civil society organizations in addition to the protection of women rights activists amidst the mounting extremism and terrorism engulfing the region. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, December 14 and 15, 2015)