Arab States build consensus on priorities for empowerment of women and girls living in rural areas ahead of CSW62

UN Women, in partnership with the League of Arab States and the Ministry of Women, Family and Children of Tunisia, convened the Arab region intergovernmental preparatory meeting ahead of the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) to be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 12 – 23 March. 

The meeting gathered ministers and government officials, as well as civil society representatives from 15 countries across the region to forge a common Arab position on the key issues to be deliberated during CSW62. 

Underscoring the collaborative nature of the event, the preparatory meeting was facilitated by Neziha Labidi, Minister of Women, Family and Children of Tunisia; Inas Mekkawy, Head of the Women, Family and Childhood Department, League of Arab States; and Mohammad Naciri, UN Women’s Regional Director for the Arab States.

Representatives of Member States discussed the importance of ensuring the empowerment of women and girls living in rural areas and the key actions needed to achieve this objective in line with Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the international community. In her opening remarks, Minister Labidi emphasized that “in all sectors, women are affected by the 17 SDGs of the 2030 global agenda. We are optimistic; however, optimism should be coupled with hard work and continuous work in order to achieve our ambitions. Not only our ambitions but also the ambitions of the next generations.”

The meeting resulted in the Tunisia Declaration, a common position of Member States in the region ahead of CSW62, aligned with the Addis Ababa declaration adopted earlier this year. in February.

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