IDLO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) convened a forum in Casablanca, Morocco on 14-15 December 2017 to lay the foundations for the first regional network for women judges in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and West Bank and Gaza.
EBRD and IDLO lay foundations of regional women judges’ platform
Women in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, are significantly affected by considerable inequalities. Discriminatory legal frameworks and neutral laws enforced with underlying biases and stereotypes continue to hold women in the region back from fully participating in society. Crucially, this is also the case in political and other leadership and decision-making positions. Enhancing the contributions of women judges is particularly important as gender justice remains elusive in many aspects.
IDLO and partners hosted the Second Regional Consultation on Law Enforcement and the HIV Response in Beirut this week. The consultation was attended by representatives from law enforcement agencies and civil society organizations from seven countries in the region: Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Sudan.
Cairo, Egypt - IDLO hosted the Third Regional Consultation on HIV-related Legal Services and Rights, which brought together lawyers and community activists from five countries in the Middle East & North Africa: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Tolerance of minorities (religious, sexual or otherwise) remains low in Egypt and other Middle Eastern and North African countries. People living with HIV are among the groups facing most discrimination. The virus is associated with stigmatized behaviors, such as sex between men and drug use. Many people with HIV are thus forced into the shadows, denied treatment, at risk of abuse and imprisonment. IDLO has been working with UNAIDS and local partners to help hundreds of people living with, and affected by, HIV in Egypt to access health and legal services.