ESCWA WEEKLY NEWS No. 37

19 August 2019



	Syrian refugees and Lebanese women in Akkar learn about their rights ESCWA kicked off the first phase of a long-term project to assist and empower women refugees from Syria and vulnerable women and girls in host communities in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. The first five-day training of trainers in Bebnine, Akkar, North of Lebanon, targeted over 35 young women who learned more on their rights and entitlements as refugees and as contributors to Syria’s peace building process. Interventions of ESCWA focused on women participation in the decision-making process by shedding light on relevant international and national frameworks. The project that was launched last year by ESCWA and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) aims to support women to play an active role in improving their lives and advocating for their rights. Participating women commented on this training in this video. Read more

	Cultivating a holistic response to domestic violence A recent study by ESCWA, entitled “Beyond Boundaries: Utilizing Protection Orders to Cultivate a Holistic Response to Domestic Violence in The Arab Region”, documents and analyses domestic violence protection order legislation in the Arab region through the lens of international frameworks and good practice. It calls upon Arab States to implement and make greater use of civil protection orders, and discusses the historic State response to violence against women worldwide. It then reviews the normative frameworks that call for civil protection orders, analyses the national legal frameworks and policy frameworks that guide Arab States’ responses to violence against women and examines in detail civil and criminal protection order legislation. Lastly, a series of recommendations is provided. Read more


	Manual for monitoring food security in the Arab region A Regional Framework on Monitoring Food Security in the Arab Region was developed in consultation and coordination with the Arab Organization for Agriculture Development (AOAD), FAO, national focal points and experts from the region, and was adopted by the Executive Council of AOAD in March 2019. This framework takes into consideration regional specificities and its alignment with the integrated approach of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and intends to highlight national strength, weakness and priorities for interventions under the four pillars defining Food Security (access, availability, utilization, and sustainability). The framework is therefore built using three outcome indicators; referred to as “core indicators”. Revolving around them, are 21 causal indicators, divided into the four dimensions of food security according to the scope and nature of each indicator. Read more


	Did you know... … that access to technology and knowledge is a key way to share ideas and promote growth? The world is more interconnected than ever. Broadband internet is critical in fostering sustainable economic development and job creation, and is strategic to the goals of reducing poverty, enhancing job opportunities, and fostering trade integration. In 2016, high-speed fixed-broadband reached just 6 per cent of the population in developing countries, compared to 24 per cent in developed countries. In the Arab region broadband penetration is still weak except in the GCC countries. In 2017, on average 5% of the population in the Arab world had broadband Internet. Women in the region are 9% less likely than men to own a mobile and 21% less likely than men to use the mobile Internet. Technology has a positive multiplier effect on economic, social and environmental development. But the Arab region remains so far one of the least developed regions in the world of science, technology and innovation. The lowest ranking position in the Global Innovation Index was from the Arab region and some were not even listed. Read more