Deputy-Speaker of House of Representatives Takes Part in International Parliamentary Webinar on the “Role Of Women’s Leadership and Gender-Responsive Parliaments in Climate Action”

Deputy-Speaker of the House of Representatives Khadija Zoumi took part on Monday, March 14, 2022, via videoconference, in an international parliamentary webinar organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The webinar focused on the “Role Of Women’s Leadership and Gender-Responsive Parliaments in Climate Action.”

In the address she gave during the webinar, the Deputy-Speaker of the House of Representatives noted that the climate change and crises that the world is facing leave victims, especially among women, with severe repercussions on their lives, as these crises deprive them of their rights, their countries and their identities. In this respect, she emphasized the need for increasing synergies in order to implement the International Convention on Climate Change and to elaborate national laws to safeguard and promote women's rights.

On this occasion, Rep. Khadija Zoumi highlighted the achievements made by the Kingdom of Morocco in the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. In this connection, she recalled the organization of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22) in 2016, the successful strategic approach adopted through the creation of renewable energy production stations, and the support and promotion of women's participation in the creation of cooperatives, especially agricultural ones, in order to strengthen the green economy.

Rep. Khadija Zoumi noted that these measures necessitate legislative support to protect and defend women, and to ensure their engagement in the elaboration of public policies aimed at preventing climate disasters.

During the same meeting, the Deputy-Speaker of the House of Representatives reiterated our country's commitment to the international conventions on climate. In the same respect, she highlighted that women are victims of displacement, natural disasters, increase in water salinity, diseases, and poverty. In addition, Rep. Khadija Zoumi stressed the imperative of joining legislative efforts, the elaboration of manifest laws that defend women's rights, and of the search of ways of consolidating green parliaments.

For their part, the participating parliamentarians agreed that climate change pose, indeed, a threat to vulnerable communities, women, and girls. They also added that parliaments play a key role in raising awareness about the impacts and dangers of climate change.

It should be noted that this meeting is part of the 66^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, affiliated with the UN Economic and Social Council.