UNESCO Beirut is organizing on 27-29 March 2018 a regional training workshop for “Arab Youth advocating for gender equality and women’s rights”. The three-day workshop builds on the successful advocacy campaigns carried out in Lebanon and in the region to promote zero tolerance for Gender-Based Violence (GBV). In 2016, a national-scale campaign was conducted by a Lebanese NGO, ABAAD, to abolish Article 522 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which included provisions preventing the prosecution or execution of a penalty is stopped if the rapist or kidnapper marries the victim. Recently, Tunisia has abolished article 227 bis of its penal code, while Jordan repealed article 308, which include similar provisions. Prior to this, Morocco abolished similar legislation in 2014 and Egypt in 1999. Nevertheless, law amendment or law abolishment does not necessarily lead to effective and full implementation, and it is essential to raise awareness about women’s rights and GBV at both institutional and community levels.

This regional training workshop will be organized by UNESCO in partnership with Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR) and ABAAD within the project of Network of Mediterranean Youth (NETMED) with EU funding, targets a group of 30 young men and women active in advocacy coming from 5 Arab countries together with representatives of youth forum from European countries. It seeks to promote women’s rights and empowerment by building competences on advocacy for fair legislations and creating an enabling and supportive environment for adolescent girls and women by increasing the public’s awareness on GBV.