Press release

2 Feb 2015

Beirut-Cairo

Arab High Level Conference on Beijing+20 Kicks Off

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The Arab High Level Conference on Beijing+20, entitled “Towards Justice and Equality for Women in the Arab Region”, opened this morning in the Egyptian capital Cairo, and will continue until tomorrow Tuesday 3 February, in Sofitel Hotel, El-Gezirah. Speeches delivered during the opening session were by the League of Arab States Secretary-General Nabil Al Arabi, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf, and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Distinguished Arab Actress Nidal El-Ashkar was the event’s keynote speaker. Al Arabi In his statement, Al Arabi noted that the meeting convenes amid the especially complicated and intricate circumstances that have ravaged the region for the past decade. Such circumstances have cast their shadows over everyone, Arab women particularly. No one can dispute the leading role these women have played during this period. They stood on the first lines of defense, fighting through their myriad roles for the preservation of their lands and their identities, sacrificing their sons and daughters for the future. Amid these difficult times in the region, they were the wisest. Israeli occupation forces still exercise systematic violence and terrorism against women and children in Palestine, in violation of all international treaties and covenants on human rights. Every day, the suffering of every Syrian woman increases. This woman has lost her homeland, offspring and family. With every dawn, a new Syrian woman is looking for shelter and food; losing a child, fumbling in a darkness that does not seem to quell. Scores of women in Arab countries are subjected to a new form of terrorist thinking, which takes religion as cover to kill innocent women and children. This puts us all in a position of responsibility to change this situation. Despite this truly painful and worrisome situation, I am certain we can continue on the path of hard labour that kicked off to empower Arab women. This is the true evidence that once there is the will and the knowledge, we can achieve much for our countries and countrymen. Khalaf In her statement, Khalaf said that Arab women committed to the Beijing plan of action, achieving tangible progress on all fronts. However, despite these achievements and efforts, the road ahead remains long. A large percentage of Arab women suffer from poverty, discrimination and marginalization. Despite their academic progress, women are the hardest to be hit by unemployment. Their participation in the economy and in political decision-making is the lowest in the world, even though they have increased their capacities and participation in the movements for change and reform during the last few years. Violence remains among the biggest dangers to women’s lives and safety in Arab countries. Every day we see heart-wrenching images and hear stories of the suffering of Palestinian women living under an unjust occupation that drains their life and violates their rights. This violence only increases with wars and conflicts that are tearing away at more than one Arab country. We see the images of Syrian and Iraqi mothers who have lost their children, of girls who are deprived of pursuing their education and are trapped instead in refugee camps, victims of the worst kinds of abuse. She added that the harsh reality of Arab women today has repercussions beyond them, as it indicts the entire society, and hits the credibility of its regimes and organizations. It hinders its progress, capacities and development. She called on the meeting to commit to build a promising future for the girls as part of a rising nation that offers a decent and productive life to everyone. Mlambo-Ngcuka In her remarks, Mlambo-Ngcuka praised the achievements of the Arab region and the efforts Arab countries are making towards the attainment of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. She also noted however that many challenges remain on this route. On this note, she said that female representation in elected bodies in the Arab region is the lowest in the world, and the economic empowerment of women remains a significant challenge. In addition, women’s increasing educational attainments and rising participation in the labour market in some areas have not been matched with better conditions, prospects for advancement and equal pay. She added that new forms of violence by extremist groups are devastating the lives of women and girls and their communities in Iraq, Syria, and several other regions worldwide, stressing the key role women can play to prevent conflicts and heal nations. On these violations, she said they were the extreme end of a global wave of fundamentalist conservatism that is taking back hard-won human rights for women and girls. In this regard, Mlambo-Ngcuka affirmed that empowered women are the foundation of resilient and stable communities that can prevent and stand firm against radicalization. She concluded by saying: “We must be as fierce in defending those rights and those communities as those who seek to obliterate them.” El-Ashkar Concluding the opening with her statement, Al Ashkar told the meeting that the developments in the Arab region, especially those affecting Arab women; the murders, rape, and violations of their very souls, thoughts as well as bodies, their exclusion from historic decisions that affect the future of their region, are all alien to our history, religion, people and culture. “These developments have forced their way into our lives, traditions and customs and they are unlike our ambitions and aspirations,” she said, adding “The only aim behind them is to take us back to the vilest stages of deterioration and imprison us in ignorance, fear and terror. The only aim behind them is to destroy the beacon of civilization in us that had always lit our path, paved our way towards development in its vastest forms and reinforced our faith in achieving Arab integration, despite whatever hurdles may come in our way and walls that may be erected to stop us.” Al Ashkar added that despite it all, Arab women remain committed to their pioneering civilization, their ancient culture, the bright side of their customs and traditions and their educational and scientific struggle. They are committed to establishing and activating a civil society for the sake of the freedom of thought, belief and opinion and committed to chasing out from every single Arab household the shadow of injustice imposed by occupation, ignorance and emerging violence in the name of religion. They are committed to their national causes, and not only their own fate but that of every child, man, and elderly in their countries to build a future where everyone enjoys justice, equality, education, culture and a total lack of illiteracy. They are committed to the will of change; a change they seek to sail towards the shores of development, growth and advancement; to be united with the world through its collective development goals. Concluding her remarks, she asked “are we ready to respond to such a commitment?” The Conference was organized jointly by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the League of Arab States (LAS), and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Other organizations contributed to the funding of the event such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The Conference brought together political and diplomatic figures, as well as policy-makers, experts, and representatives of Arab Member States, national women’s machineries, members of civil society, international and regional organizations, and United Nations agencies. The Conference sessions will focus today on national accomplishments and challenges related to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration in the 20 years since its adoption. Sessions will also examine past approaches and proposed future measures toward the full realization of the Beijing Platform for Action in the Arab region, particularly in connection with parallel global processes regarding equality and justice for women.
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