The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)  and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), in collaboration with the Jordan Department of Statistics (DOS), organized a regional workshop on Integrating a Gender Statistics in the Production of Statistics. This regional workshop is intended to train national statisticians on the production and use of gender statistics, as well as discuss the newly developed UN manual: Integrating a Gender Perspective into Statistics.

Commenting on the aggression today to which the UN House in Beirut was exposed, UNESCWA Executive Secretary Mervat Tallawy said, “we understand the feeling of the Lebanese people after several civilians fell due to strikes over the Qana village early this morning, which recalls the tragedy that hit this village in 1996.” She added, “We appreciate the intervention of the Lebanese authorities at the highest level to provide protection to the UN headquarters in Beirut and stress Lebanon’s need of the United Nations and UNESCWA.

The advancement of women’s rights is a matter of urgency in the Arab region and essential for meaningful development. Although significant progress towards women’s empowerment has been made in most Arab countries, women in the region continue to face great challenges and uncertainty, particularly in situations of conflict, economic difficulties and political instability. Gender-based discrimination remains widespread and their access to resources, opportunities and decision-making continues to be limited.