Achieving the MDGs for Women and Girls in Times of Transition in the MENA Region, CSW58

A parallel event of WLP and the Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTD-A) during the 58th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) focuses on changes taking place in transitioning countries of the Arab region, and ways in which changes will have a decisive impact on the ability of new emerging states to implement the MDGs for women and girls.

The panel will explore the commitment of emerging Arab states towards women and girls within a context of rising violence against women and girls, retrenchment of prior commitments made in CEDAW, declining investments in public services and infrastructure, rising religious conservatism, and calls for women to withdraw from public life.

Panelists will highlight current local, regional, and international advocacy initiatives carried out by Women's Learning Partnership and Equality Without Reservation to ensure that commitments to MDG goals for women and girls remain on the political agenda. Key links between international instruments for human rights, CEDAW, and the MDGs will be highlighted to reveal the necessity and complexity of undertaking multi-layered advocacy. Various advocacy strategies will be explored and examined, including WLP's initiative to establish an advocacy hub in the MENA region.