What: The eighth civil society dialogue session entitled “Electoral Justice: The Essence of Meaningful Participation in Lebanon and the Arab Region”
 
When: Monday 23 April 2018 from 10:00am to 01:00pm
 
Where: ESCWA headquarters, Riad el-Solh Square, Beirut
 
Why:
 

• The eighth civil society dialogue session focused on electoral justice and organized by the Social Justice Section of ESCWA is held in partnership with the Netherlands Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon and the Beyond Reform & Development Group. The session will address the participation of women and youth in political life in general, with a focus on electoral processes and will discuss barriers to the political participation of youth and women in Lebanon and other Arab countries and the drivers of their exclusion from political life, and to explore solutions that would help to improve that participation.

• The eighth civil society dialogue session is part of a series launched by ESCWA in 2013 in partnership with civil society organizations (CSOs) and other stakeholders on issues related to justice, participation and citizenship. The dialogues and subsequent regional consultations resulted in concrete recommendations documented in the Declaration of Civil Society Organizations from the Arab Region on the Post-2015 Framework, which was presented in the High-level Panel’s report to the United Nations Secretary-General on the post-2015 process. These dialogues and consultation meetings also served to take stock of developments in the situation and action of civil society organizations, and to discuss challenges and opportunities for civil society activism and the impact of CSOs on political transition processes in the region in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings.

• A final report will document the discussions and main recommendations. These recommendations will be used by ESCWA to inform its normative work, namely the policy documents it produces on participatory governance and social justice. The outcome of discussions may also serve to set the ground for activists to campaign and engage with parliamentarians on how to promote the participation of youth and women in future elections in Arab countries.

  
 
Special features:
The meeting will discuss the following issues:

• The importance of the political participation of women and youth in the Arab region, and the current status quo.
• The main barriers that prevent women and youth from running for elections and holding political positions in the region, particularly in the case of Lebanon and the recent candidacy of 111 women for the parliament.
• The required tools and mechanisms (social, economic, political) to enforce gender and youth responsive policies and systems, including the legal reforms needed to increase the presence of women and youth in political positions.
• Good practices on the political participation of women and youth from the region and beyond.

 
It will include three sessions:

• Session I – Agents of Change, Youth and Women in Political Positions: Situation, Barriers and Challenges
• Session II – Good Practices and Success Stories on the Political Representation of Youth and Women
• Session III – Wrap-up and Concluding Remarks

 
 
Participants: A panel discussion will gather Arab activists and experts in the field of political participation/representation of women and youth. The dialogue will also include civil society organizations’ representatives, academics and media specialists from Lebanon. The meeting will benefit from the contributions of H.E. Mr. Jan Waltmans, Ambassador of the Netherlands in Lebanon, and Mr. Gilbert Doumit, Founder and Managing Partner of the Beyond Reform & Development Group. Youth, parliamentarians and women candidates for the upcoming Lebanese parliamentary elections will also be present.
 
For more information,
The event page on the ESCWA website: https://www.unescwa.org/events/civil-society-dialogue-electoral-justice
 
 
The ESCWA Communication and Information Unit (ECIU) kindly requests media representatives wishing to cover this meeting to confirm their attendance on the following numbers in order to facilitate their access: +96170008879 | +96170827372 | +96170079021
 
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For more information:
 
Nabil Abu-Dargham +961-70-99 31 44; email: dargham@un.org  
Ms Rania Harb: +96170008879  harb1@un.org
Ms Mirna Mahfouz:  +961-70-827372   mahfouz@un.org
Mr Haidar Fahs: +961-70-079021  haydar.fahs@un.org