The Coalition of Women Arab MPs to combat violence against women launched the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence to submit a draft Arab convention on violence against women to be ratified by the Arab League. The launch was made during the opening on Thursday of the Coalition’s Regional Conference in Tunisia, noting that the majority of women associations and societies run this annual campaign starting on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to 10 December, Human Rights Day. To recall, the Coalition was founded back in 2014 and embraces members from Arab Parliaments with the aim to fight violence against women through the development of relevant legislations. Drafting the above Arab Convention started in December 2016, according to its chairperson Wafaa Bani Mostafa, who said the convention is drawn in line with international standards with special focus on the Arab women and women refugees and migrants under occupation and is aimed to achieve best ways to protect them. Bani Mostafa also pointed out that the Coalition strongly relies on the support of both the government and Parliament in Tunisia to push it forward inside the Arab League, especially since the Tunisian ministry of women will be chairing the Arab Women Committee at the League as of February 2018. She said Arabs should benefit from the Tunisian experience on the legislative level after ratification in July of the law combating violence against women. (Al Diyar, November 19, 2017)