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Region:Asia Pacific Current UN Women Plan Period Afghanisthan:2018-2022
i-icon World Bank Income Classification:Low Income The World Bank classifies economies for analytical purposes into four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income. For this purpose it uses gross national income (GNI) per capita data in U.S. dollars, converted from local currency using the World Bank Atlas method, which is applied to smooth exchange rate fluctuations. i-icon Least Developed Country:Yes Since 1971, the United Nations has recognized LDCs as a category of States that are deemed highly disadvantaged in their development process, for structural, historical and also geographical reasons. Three criteria are used: per capita income, human assets, and economic vulnerability. i-icon Gender Inequality Index:0.575 GII is a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. A low GII value indicates low inequality between women and men, and vice-versa. i-icon Gender Development Index:0.723 GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.
i-icon Population:209,497,025 Source of population data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision Male:19,976,265 (9.5%) Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)
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outcome XM-DAC-41146-RAS_D_10.2

Women and girls in armed conflict and protracted crises meaningfully participate in peace and security processes, from formal peace talks to local peacebuilding efforts, advocate effectively for women’s rights and gender equality in prevention and reconstruction efforts, and benefit from the implementation of WPS commitments across the Arab States region

During the reporting over 100 women and young women peacebuilders, human rights defenders and activists from the region, increased their capacities, and accessed knowledge and networking opportunities to actively participate in peace and security issues in the region . Additionally, through UN Women regional programming, national stakeholders enhanced their capacities for the implementation of the WPS agenda at country level in 5 countries in the region. National stakeholders across the region benefitted from technical support for the development, adoption and implementation of National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325. In 2022, one member state in the region adopted a new NAP (Morocco), bringing the total number of NAPs in the region to 8. Finally, national and international stakeholder, civil society actors and women peacebuilders can now access information on women’s participation in local mediation efforts in the region as well as on the interlinkages and integration of transitional justice and NAPs 1325. To achieve these results, UN Women continued to support the meaningful participation of women and girls in peace and security processes in the Arab region through 1) knowledge production on WPS issues in the region, 2) direct capacity building support to women and young women involved in peace and security, 3) strategic partnerships with regional and global stakeholders to strengthen the implementation of the WPS agenda in the region. Additionally, UN Women supported national stakeholders in the implementation of the WPS agenda regionally. Further, UN Women continued to deliver on conducting cutting edge research on WPS issues in the region in order to better inform UN Women work on WPS going forward as well as to provide knowledge to national and international stakeholder, civil society actors and women peacebuilders themselves across the region.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-RAS_D_10.3

Women and women’s organizations lead, participate and advocate effectively in the Syrian political process from a gender and women’s rights perspective

Implementation of this outcome is on track. Overall, Syrian women heightened their influence and presence in high-level fora. The Women's Advisory Board (WAB) now holds an important role as a trusted advisory body to the Special Envoy (SE) and is recognised as one of the most inclusive structures in the political process and as a source of expertise on a broad range of issues related to Syria. The Office of the Special Evoy for Syria (OSE) was more open to the inputs and expertise of the WAB as a result of the WAB’s strengthened political and constitutional advisory role. The WAB has also reported an increased demand for and openness to its expertise in broader civil society circles. UN Women contributed to these results by facilitating and strengthening linkages between the different political tracks and stakeholders , supporting the capacity building , convening and work of the WAB and Syrian civil society, and creating synergies across the Syria programme’s four pillars: 1) political process ; 2) civil society; 3) research ; and 4) coordination. • 10.3A: Number of instances where the concerns/issues/recommendations put forward by women's civil society are addressed in outcome documents or statements related to the political process or other high-level discussions on the future of Syria: In 2022, the European Union (EU) and the SE included the concerns/issues/recommendations put forward by Syrian women's civil society in three (3) instances, surpassing the target of one (1) instance in 2022. These included the press statement of the SE at the end of the 8th round; Brussels VI Conference statement of the SE; and the Brussels Conference statement of the EU HR/VP. The EU and the SE included the WAB in their statements at the high-level segment of the Brussels VI conference. This resulted from the WAB’s effective advocacy efforts in Brussels on the side lines of the Brussels IV Conference on the Future of Syria. As a result of the WAB meeting, which was held in parallel to the Brussels VI conference, the WAB engaged in extensive analysis on the status of gender equality and women’s rights in Syria as well as formulated strategic priorities and messages, which the WAB members then effectively conveyed to high-level officials. This resulted in the inclusion of these priorities in the outcome statement of the meeting and the remarks of the SE and HR/VP. High-level meetings are an effective tool to nudge the WAB towards joint positions. These meetings also increased WAB legitimacy and solidified its role as a key interlocutor in the political process. UN Women contributed to these results by facilitating and providing operational support to convene WAB meetings, capacity building of the WAB, and strengthening linkages between the different political tracks and stakeholders . Security Council briefings have been reported under indicator 10.3.1B. • 10.3B: Number of new or updated position papers and knowledge products undetaken by supported women leaders: The OSE and its work related to the Constitutional Committee for Syria (CC) are more informed about constitutional issues. This is a result of the WAB's preparation and submission of 12 knowledge products to the OSE during 2022, surpassing the target of two position papers per annum (outcome indicator 2). In Q1, the WAB officially submitted seven (confidential) constitutional principles to the OSE in the context of the March 2022 WAB meeting in Vaud, Switzerland. The WAB submitted both constitutional principles proposed by the negotiating delegations during the sixth round (October 2021) and the seventh round of the CC (March 2022). The four October proposals were on the army, armed forces, security and intelligence, the rule of law, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic; and terrorism and extremism. The three proposals submitted in March related to basics of governance, state symbols, and regulation and functions of public authorities. The WAB submitted four further (confidential) constitutional principles to the OSE in the context of the May-June 2022 WAB meeting in Vaud, Switzerland, held in parallel to the eighth meeting of the CC. These proposals for constitutional principles related to unilateral coercive measures from a constitutional perspective, maintaining and strengthening State institutions, supremacy of the constitution and status of international treaties, as well as transitional justice. Lastly, the WAB submitted one position paper to the OSE in Q3. This was a scenario paper which the WAB developed as a consequence of the August-September 2022 WAB meeting. UN Women contributed to these results by facilitating and providing operational support to convene WAB meetings, capacity building of the WAB, and strengthening linkages between the different political tracks and stakeholders . • 10.3C: Percentage of stakeholders and beneficiaries indicating relevance of UN Women interventions in advancing women's rights and gender equality in the Syrian context: On average, 93% of surveyed stakeholders and beneficiaries reported positive relevance of UN Women’s interventions in advancing women’s rights and gender equality in the Syrian context. This result surpasses the 2022 target of 40% by 53 percentage points. According to the annual evaluation of the WAB, 100 per cent of WAB members agreed that UN Women support was relevant to their work (an increase from 75% in agreement in 2021), surpassing the 2022 of 40 per cent. Moreover, the evaluation of the Geneva WAB meeting in November 2022 indicated that all WAB members attending the meeting (100%) believed were of the opinion that the meeting was relevant to their work. The target was further surpassed in the evaluation of the coordination meeting between UN Women’s civil society partners, in which 93 per cent of the respondents agreed that the workshop was relevant to their work to advance women’s rights and gender equality in the Syrian context.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-RAS_D_7.1

Arab States accelerate the implementation of global and regional gender norms and standards with quality comparable data particularly on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Cairo Declaration for Arab Women

The Outcome was not achieved; however, some notable progress was made towards the Outcome. T he 15 member states of the League of Arab States (LAS) have increased their knowledge and capacities to implement gender responsive policies and programmes that work towards the achievement of SDG5 with a focus on women’s leadership across the six indicators. This is based on surveys completed by member states on their progress towards the implementation of the Cairo Declaration (CD) on Arab Women. The response rate to the survey was 100%. The scope of the CD is broad so in this first review (which was due in 2020 but delayed due to COVID-19 response and recovery), the focus was on 6 indicators: women’s political, economic and social status, ending all forms of violence against women and girls, women’s peace and security gender and the environment. Specifically on women’s political leadership and decision-making the update revealed variations in policy makers’ capacities and progress across the region and noted that in general [1] , the rate of participation of Arab women in the executive authority in the Arab countries surveyed is medium , especially at the level of both middle and grassroots administrations , while the participation rates of women in the same countries are low at the level of both the judicial and legislative branches . Some examples of varied policies made across the region are highlighted below: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan issued a new Election Law for the House of Representatives No. 4 (2022), which increased the number of seats allocated to women from 15 to a minimum of 18 seats (in addition to the seats). Furthermore, Jordan ratified Political Parties Law No. (7) of 2022, which states that the percentage of women should not be less than 20% of the number of founders. The percentage of women ' s participation in political parties in the Arab countries surveyed ranged from 5 % to 63 . 3 %. The Republic of Lebanon led the Arab region by recording the highest Arab percentage ( 53 . 67 %) for women' s participation in the judiciary. In 2022, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued the new Personal Status Law which grants women the legal freedom to decide about who they will marry. Furthermore, the law regulates that children's custody is for the mother. The mixed results continue to reflect the different political models in place across the region which determine the pace, scope and depth of introducing measure to increase women’s political leadership and decision-making. There is an increasing demand to share knowledge on political policies, regulations and programmes from within and beyond the region. For example, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan requested examples on gender units and media policies on profiling women in politics. Through a regional convening on women in politics and violence against women in politics, the country was able to use the platform to share knowledge and best practices which resulted in the establishment of the first gender unit in the election management body in Jordan. The results are evidenced by the electoral laws, decrees, regional dialogues, Cairo Declaration attached here. ROAS contributed to these changes by providing data to country offices and beyond on VAWP, retro analysis of WPP programming in the region, country scans on the level of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, the Gender Justice before the Law update. ROAS also provided technical expertise and financial resources to develop WPP pro docs in Jordan and Lebanon, VAWP initiative in Libya, the Cairo Declaration review, COP27 proceedings, and CSO two regional meetings (women with disability and COP27). ROAS worked on these changes in partnership with UN Women country offices, UN regional agencies UNDP, UNFPA and ESCWA; UNCT Bahrain DI Task Force; the LAS; regional civil society groups including the Arab States Civil Society Organizations and Feminists Network (WCLAC), Arab EMB and AWEN, AFOWD and AOPD to deliver on the regional dialogues, training, advocacy and data analysis. [1] The Cairo Declaration on Arab Women Review 2022
outcome XM-DAC-41146-RAS_D_8.1

More women access equitable employment opportunities and services, increasing the rate of women’s participation in the workforce in Arab States, including the most marginalized.

The goal of increasing the women's labor force participation rate in the Arab States from around 20%, where its been stagnant for two decades, has been a priority for the UN Women Regional Office for Arab States. The legislative changes supported in Egypt, Jordan and Palesine through the JP, along with the regional committment by the League of Arab States paired with the region-wide work on the WEPs contribute to achieving that. With the goal of reducing the gender gap in unpaid care and domestic work and contribute to transform social norms that impede women’s access to paid employment , UN Women achieved some important milestones through critical reforms of relevant normative frameworks . At the beginning of 2022, three labor laws were reformed to approve or enhance paternity (fathers') leave in Egypt, Palestine, and Morocco thanks to advocacy work undertaken by UN Women in cooperation with other partners. These milestones were achieved as a result of policy dialogues and advocacy campaigning organized by UN Women during previous years at both regional and country level. In Egypt, one day of paternity leave was approved through its labor law reform; three days for civil servants in Palestine; and 15 days for civil servants in Morocco (an increase from the existing three days paternity leave approved some years ago). Although these legal reforms cannot be considered as best practice -as the global best practice for parental leave entails a fully paid leave, of equal duration for both parents and non-transferable-, they constitute a positive gradual step to achieve more equal and meaningful paternity leave , increase the engagement of men in childcare and reduce the burden of unpaid care on women in the longer term .
outcome XM-DAC-41146-RAS_D_9.1

More women and girls are protected from violence, particularly domestic violence and violence in the public sphere

ROAS developed an implementation plan against this outcome
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References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
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