Women’s Rights Committee of the PA-UfM takes place at the headquarters of the UfM: supporting more actions and projects for women in the region

Barcelona, 29 November, 2013. The Women's Rights Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) took place today at the premises of the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean.

The Committee was chaired by Samira Merai-Friaa, member of the National Constituent Assembly of Tunisia, and focused on two main topics: The situation of women in armed conflicts and Women and job creation.

Delphine Borione, UfM Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil Affairs, presented the main UfM priorities and projects on women empowerment in the region, highlighting the upcoming Union for the Mediterranean Conference on Projects in the field of women empowerment and gender equality, planned for March 2014 in Barcelona. This Conference will aim at supporting regional women-related projects and identifying optimal sources of funding. This important event will also be an opportunity for the local and national actors to meet, network and develop regional partnerships.

The Women's Rights Committee of the PA-UfM was an opportunity to further associate Women parliamentarians in UfM activities and exchange views on the situation of women in the region. The challenges and difficulties that women are facing on the issues of employment and violence were discussed and illustrated by specific situations on the ground. The circumstances of women in refugee camps were also particularly debated.

Background

The Third Ministerial Conference of the Union for the Mediterranean on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society was held in Paris on 11-12 September 2013. In order to follow-up the development of projects in the field of women empowerment and gender equality, the Secretariat of the UfM is planning to organize a dedicated conference next March 2014.

Find the Ministerial Declaration here