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National News
06-03-2025
- General
- National News
الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام - UfM stands with Euro-Mediterranean women in fight for gender equality and climate action on International Women's Day
• Despite progress in recent years, gender equality remains elusive on both shores of the Mediterranean. According to the latest EU index, the bloc has a score of 71 out of 100, a figure that masks significant differences between countries. Meanwhile, the MENA region is the least gender equal in the world with a score of 61.7. Although it has experienced an overall positive trajectory over the past two decades, labour-force participation and political empowerment are markedly low. • The region is also a climate change hotspot, the effects of which disproportionally impact women. Registration is still open for the UfM's International Women's Day webinar on gender, climate change and security, which will explore how to capitalise on women's potential to counter climate change and address its implications for peace and safety. The event will take place on March 7 at 10:00 CET. • Later this year the UfM will present the 2nd Progress Report on Gender Equality in the Euro-Mediterranean Region. With figures from the first-ever Intergovernmental Gender Monitoring Mechanism, it will provide policymakers with data-informed recommendations to close the gender gap in the region NNA - 6 March 2025, Barcelona- As another International Women's Day approaches, it is once again time to reiterate that gender equality in the Euro-Mediterranean region is yet to be achieved, despite signs of progress in countries on both shores of our shared sea. And in a region that is also warming at a rate 20% faster than the global average, climate change has time and again demonstrated its ability to exacerbate existing socio-economic inequalities. Women, especially those in low income and rural communities, are disproportionately affected as they face increased instability and resource scarcity. This is a detriment to society as a whole given their centrality to fostering more inclusive and effective responses to the crisis. Because of this, the Union for the Mediterranean will mark International Women's Day with a webinar on the intersection of gender, climate change, and security. The online event, which is open to the general public, will also serve to present the latest UfM-European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) policy paper, 'Climate Crisis and Gender Equality in the Euro- Mediterranean Region – Emerging Security Risks.' Speakers including Sarine Karajerjian from the Arab Reform Initiative think tank, Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean's Anthi Brouma or Zeina Moneer, an environmental policy researcher with a PhD from Freiburg University, will discuss how to advance the role of women in climate governance and peacebuilding. 'The many challenges women face in the Euro-Mediterranean region should be seized as opportunities to empower them as agents of change,' said UfM Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil Affairs Stephen Borg. 'Women in our region have extraordinary capabilities, particularly when it comes to climate adaptation and peacebuilding initiatives, evidence of the critical role they play in society not as victims, but as much-needed leaders of change,' said UfM gender equality expert Anna Dorangricchia. Empowering women as drivers of regional development and security is one of the UfM's main pillars of action. Later this year, as the global community celebrates the 30th anniversary of the UN's Beijing Declaration, the UfM will present the 2nd Progress Report on Gender Equality in the Euro-Mediterranean Region with findings from its Intergovernmental Gender Monitoring Mechanism, the first ever of its kind. Other initiatives that fall under this umbrella include the upcoming launch of the Mediterranean Network of Women Journalists or the Women Business Forum, an annual gathering that has already mobilised more than 150 female entrepreneurs and 10 financial actors. -- UFM ===================
Al-Ahram Weekly
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Palestinians displacement red line for Egypt: House Deputy Speaker Abou El-Enein - Foreign Affairs
Deputy Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament Mohamed Abou El-Enein affirmed that the displacement of Palestinians is a red line, stressing that Cairo would not accept attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause under any circumstances. During a speech before the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Parliamentary Assembly meeting on migration to the Western Mediterranean and the Atlantic, which was held on Wednesday in Spain, Abou El-Enein explained that the Palestinian people would not give up their land or leave it. He called on the international community to work to end the Israeli occupation and reach a peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis. Furthermore, Abou El-Enein noted that the root cause of the conflict in the Middle East is the Israeli occupation. 'If we want to achieve security and peace, we must work to end the Israeli occupation and not for the Palestinian people to leave their land so that the occupation remains in it,' he went on saying. He added that such a proposal violates international law, values, principles, and human rights and would expand the conflict in the region. Moreover, the Deputy Speaker pointed out that repeated attempts to displace the Palestinians have failed in the past. Peace, he affirmed, can only be achieved by demonstrating a serious political will to end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 1967 that coexists peacefully with the state of Israel. Abou El-Enein added that Egypt, as a pioneer of peace in the Middle East, stands ready to work with the new US administration, the European Union, and all international powers to achieve lasting peace, but Israel lacks the political will. He called on the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean to communicate with the US Congress and parliaments worldwide to mobilize efforts for peace and stability. He also called for taking advantage of the opportunity represented by the ceasefire agreement and the global interest in the Palestinian cause to take practical measures to reach peace, security and lasting stability for the Palestinians, Israelis, and the world at large. Furthermore, the Deputy Speaker highlighted that achieving peace in Palestine, stopping the war in Sudan, and restoring stability in Libya, Syria, and Yemen are key to addressing the root causes of displacement and irregular migration. He explained that millions of citizens from these countries were forced to flee their homelands to seek security and stability elsewhere. To enable their safe return, Abou El-Enein called for supporting these countries' national institutions, respecting their sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, putting an end to any external pressures or interference in their affairs, and preventing the flow of weapons to militias and armed groups that threaten their stability and unity. He also called for expanding legal migration pathways and encouraging the transfer of investments to create jobs that encourage young people to stay in their countries, noting that Egypt deals comprehensively with the issue of migration. According to the Deputy Speaker, Egypt assists young people in building their capacities in line with labour markets at home and abroad to support organized migration pathways. Egypt, he noted, also cooperates with many European countries in this respect and raises awareness of the risks of irregular migration. Furthermore, Abou El-Enein stressed that shifting from global to regional supply chains constitutes an opportunity to resettle European supply chains in the southern Mediterranean countries. He called for reviewing existing free trade agreements and adopting new ones linking trade liberalization with promoting foreign direct investment. He also advocated for the free movement of goods and services at borders or beyond borders through a modern Euro-Mediterranean transport network. Moreover, he called for the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean financial institution to invest in integration projects and infrastructure and explore trade and investment opportunities. He also stressed the importance of turning the challenge posited by climate change into an opportunity to encourage more investments in renewable energy, green hydrogen production, and electricity grids. In addition, Abou El-Enein called for establishing a regional market for green electricity and expanding the Euro-Mediterranean partnership to include other regions, including Africa and the Arabian Gulf region. Short link:
