Distinguished Participation of the Moroccan Parliament in Arab Parliaments Dialogue on the Regional Review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Amman, capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, hosts the Arab Parliaments Dialogue on the Regional Review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action after Thirty Years. Organized in partnership between the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Regional Office of UN Women for Arab States, and the League of Arab States, on May 29-30, 2024, the Dialogue aims to gather representatives of Arab Parliaments,provide them with an overview of the Regional Review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, exchange experiences and best practices on the role and contribution of women parliamentarians in promoting women's issues, and monitor the progress made towards implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

This Dialogue also aims to review the most important legislative reforms adopted since 2019 regarding gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, enhance the understanding of drivers of change and the pathways that led to the adoption of these legislative reforms, monitor the challenges facing the adoption of legislation aimed at promoting gender equality, and identify priorities and strategies for future action, by shedding light on the experience of women parliamentarians in legislative assemblies.

The Moroccan Parliament is represented in this Dialogue, which is a global framework for achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, by a parliamentary delegation that includes Rep. Najwa Koukouss (Group of Authenticity and Modernity), in her capacity as Chairperson of the Interim Thematic Working Group on Equality and Parity, Cllr. Fatima El Idrissi (Group of the Moroccan Labor Union), and Cllr. Loubna Alaoui (Group of the National Labor Union ofMorocco).

Spread over two days, the Dialogue sessions focus on seven themes: legislative amendments aimed at achieving gender equality, legislative developments in the field of the right to work, decent work environment and entrepreneurial opportunities, women's participation in public life and decision-making, legislation to protect vulnerable women and girls, protection from violence, and personal status.

The gathering allowed the Moroccan delegation to shed light on the excellent and leading Moroccan experience at the Arab and African levels in protecting women's rights and establishing parity on the horizon of equality. In this respect, the Moroccan delegation gave an overview of the strides made by the Kingdom of Morocco in the field of women's empowerment, stressing that the Kingdom, under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, has been engaged since the 2011 constitutional amendment, in the process of advancing the status of women at various political, economic, and social levels.

In this context, Rep. Najwa Koukouss explained that since 2019, the Kingdom of Morocco has adopted a set of important legislative reforms aimed at promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls. These reforms are part of itscommitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the Fifth Goal related to gender equality.

Rep. Najwa Koukouss, Chairperson of the Interim Thematic Working Group on Equality and Parity, stressed that the Constitution of the Kingdom of Morocco enshrines the equal enjoyment by men and women of the civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights and freedoms contained in international conventions and covenants, as ratified by the Kingdom. She added that the Constitution stipulates that all laws should include provisions that promote equal opportunities for women and men in accessing elected positions and improving their representation within them, as well as organizing public facilities based on equal access for women and men, seeking to achieve the principle of gender equality, and taking a set of measures under the enacted laws to achieve the principle of gender equality and empower women.