The Coalition of Women MPs from Arab Countries to Combat Violence against Women, in cooperation with the Algerian Parliament, and in the presence of a number of female members of the Algerian Parliament and members of the coalition from various Arab countries, held a session on the “Arab Declaration to Combat All Forms of Violence against Women and Girls”, with the aim of introducing the declaration and building partnerships in the field of combating violence against women, today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024. During the session, Her Excellency Mrs. Nawara Saadia Jaafar, founding member of the Coalition of Women Parliamentarians from Arab Countries to Combat Violence against Women and member of the Algerian House of Nation, expressed her full solidarity with women under occupation and conflict, and referred to the tragedy experienced by Palestinian women in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, and in other Arab countries. She also provided a presentation on the Coalition’s journey and achievements, and indicated that many countries have made many important amendments to their legislation related to women’s rights, which encouraged the Coalition to participate in amending laws in some member states of the Coalition. Her Excellency Nawara Saadia Jaafar stated that the Coalition submitted a draft “Convention to Combat Violence against Women and Girls and Domestic Violence” to the League of Arab States after its launch in December 2016, which then became the “Arab Declaration to Combat All Forms of Violence against Women and Girls.” She also stressed that the coalition is proud of its cooperative and partnership relationship with a number of Arab organizations, most notably the League of Arab States, the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Arab Parliament, in addition to the coalition having the observer status at the League of Arab States and the Arab IPU.

Professor Mounia Ammar, honorary member and advisor to the Coalition of Women MPs from Arab Countries to Combat Violence against Women, presented a comparative study between the Arab Declaration to Combat All Forms of Violence against Women and Girls, and the Convention to Combat Violence against Women and Girls and Domestic Violence.

During the discussion, the participants stressed the importance of holding such sessions in order to achieve more gains and support for the cause of combating violence against women, and they noted the importance of the role of awareness, local communities, media, and educational curricula in combating violence against women in all its forms, especially economic, domestic, and cyber violence.

It is worth noting that the League of Arab States launched the Arab Declaration to Combat All Forms of Violence against Women and Girls on 12/5/2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, based on the directives of the Arab Foreign Ministers, as the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level approved the “Arab Declaration to Combat All Forms of Violence against Women and Girls” on March 9, 2022, which represents a moral commitment to build a society free of all forms of violence against women and girls in the Arab world.