ESCWA

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Item ID
{896FB336-8EDC-4BCE-BC1E-89996E6884D5}
UNAgency ID
{0306268D-F313-4E6D-8C27-C901ED2D511A}
Policy Framework

ESCWA’s work on violence against women is aligned with relevant international frameworks and is guided by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (especially Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Empowerment of All Women and Girls).

Regionally, the Muscat Declaration: Towards the Achievement of Gender Justice in the Arab Region (2016), formulated at the seventh session of the Committee on Women of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, also informs the work of ECW. The Muscat Declaration outlines gender justice as both a process and an outcome, taking into consideration relevant international frameworks and national initiatives.

Background

As the regional arm and voice of the United Nations in the Arab region, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) promotes the economic and social development of its Member States through regional and sub-regional cooperation and integration. ESCWA has a general mandate to carry out regional reviews of progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of international conferences and summits. The ESCWA Centre for Women (ECW) was established in 2003 to improve the status of women in the region by empowering them economically, socially and politically. ECW works very closely with National Women’s Machineries (NWMs) to assist them in promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality. This entails undertaking evidence-based research to inform the development of gender sensitive national policies, plans and programmes.

Resources

Women, Peace and Security: The Role of Institutions in Times of Peace and War in the Arab Region (E/ESCWA/ECW/2017/1). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/women-peace-security-institutions-war-arab

Status of Arab Women: Violence against Women: What Is at Stake? (E/ESCWA/ECW/2017/2). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/arab-women-report-violence-against-women

The State of Gender Justice in the Arab Region (E/ESCWA/ECW/2017/4). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/state-gender-justice-arab-region

Policy Brief: Institutional Mechanisms for Gender Accountability in the Arab Region (E/ESCWA/ECW/2017/TECHNICAL PAPER.3). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/institutional-mechanisms-gender-accountability

Estimating Costs of Marital Violence in the Arab Region: Operational Model (E/ESCWA/ECW/2017/TECHNICAL PAPER.4). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/estimating-costs-marital-violence-operational-model

Policy Brief: Role of Women in Peacebuilding Processes (E/ESCWA/ECW/2017/TECHNICAL PAPER.5). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/role-women-peacebuilding-processes

Enhancing the Role of Institutions in Achieving Gender Equality in the Arab Region: The Economic Cost of Violence against Women (E/ESCWA/ECW/2017/IG.1/5(Part III)). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.org/files/events/files/1700348e.pdf

Women in the Judiciary: A Stepping Stone towards Gender Justice (E/ESCWA/ECW/2018/BRIEF.1). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/women-judiciary-gender-justice-arab-countriesThe Due Diligence Standard, Violence against Women and Protection Orders in the Arab Region (E/ESCWA/ECW/2018/BRIEF.2). Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/publications/protection-orders-due-diligence

Gender Justice & the Law: Assessment of Laws Affecting Gender Equality in the Arab States Region. Available at: https://www.unescwa.org/events/gender-justice-and-law

URL

https://www.unescwa.org/

Mail Address

ESCWA P.O. Box 11-8575, Riad El-Solh 1107 2812, Beirut, Lebanon

Areas of Work

The elimination of violence against women is a key priority area for ESCWA and guides the work of ECW.

Working within the Arab region, ECW’s work programme covers an extensive research, advocacy and capacity-building agenda on the following priority issues: Women, Peace and Security; Violence against Women; and Gender Justice, with the cross-cutting themes of gender mainstreaming and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

The eradication of violence against women is addressed in a holistic manner and from different angles by ECW. This approach is both comprehensive and contextual and involves extensive research, legal reform advocacy, policy development, and service provision development and augmentation. The Centre capitalizes on its location in and extensive knowledge of the region to bring in best practices at the national level through technical advisory work and capacity-building activities.

Agency Type
SECRETARIAT
Title
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Icon
ESCWA

Mar 2014 - Mar 2016 | ESCWA

In 2015, ESCWA produced a background paper on the socioeconomic impact of wars on women and girls in the Arab region. The paper shows that Gender-Based Violence is one of the most relevant repercussions of wars on women and girls and proposes recommendations at the institutional and legal levels.

Mar 2014 - Mar 2016 | ESCWA

In November 2015, ESCWA co-organized with the Lebanese American University session of the Gender Discussion Series focusing on Gender-Based Violence in emergency settings. This session gathered experts from civil society organizations, national institutions and UN agencies to shed light on the topic.

Mar 2014 - Mar 2016 | ESCWA

In 2016, ESCWA started to develop a study entitled “Status on Arab Women Report - Violence against Women: A Costly Bill”. This study is mandated by various international legal and policy frameworks, such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, with a particular focus on the integrated measures to prevent and eliminate Violence against Women. Besides, the study is aligned to the SDGs and particularly Goal 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women, which sheds light on combatting violence against women as a key factor to achieve the goal.

Mar 2014 - Mar 2016 | ESCWA

In terms of protection, support and services, ESCWA developed in 2015 a toolkit for service and protection provision to address Gender-Based Violence in the Arab region. This toolkit, developed in partnership with CAWTAR, targeted Government representatives, religious leaders and media professionals with a view to change gender-related behaviours and perspectives in public policy and the public sphere.

Mar 2014 - Mar 2016 | ESCWA

During the period 2014 to 2016, ESCWA focused several of its Gender Discussion Series on Violence against Women. In December 2014, ESCWA organized a discussion on “Gender-related research and policy priorities emerging in the context of recent regional developments, particularly in humanitarian and conflict settings”. This event was organized in collaboration with the ABAAD Resource Centre for Gender Equality in the context of 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence. Within this framework, ESCWA organized several advocacy activities against Gender-Based Violence.

Oct 2010 - Feb 2011 | ESCWA

ESCWA Centre for Women organized several events on 25-26 October 2010 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the UN SCR 1325, including the launch of the publication entitled “Means to strengthen the role of women in conflict resolution and peace-building”, a round table discussion with the theme “Ten years 1325: Where are we now?”, and a workshop for Member States on drafting national action plans to impelement the UN SCR 1325.
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