Gender Justice and the Law

The Gender Justice and the Law initiative champions legal reform for women's rights across the Arab region. Recognized in 2021 by the United Nations Secretary-General as a model of excellence, the initiative benchmarks laws and public policies against global standards, employing a color-coded system to assess their alignment. Launched in 2018, the initiative produced 18 country reports grounded in 29 indicators across five domains (constitutional protections, personal status, nationality, criminal laws, and labour laws). Between 2021 and 2022, the framework expanded to encompass 74 indicators across six domains (general framework of the State; legal capacity and public life; protection from violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres; employment and economic benefits; family and personal status matters; sexual and reproductive health and rights).

The initiative aspires to galvanize reform, urging countries to review and enhance policies and frameworks to safeguard women’s rights and dismantle entrenched barriers. It equips policymakers with a visual legislative map, highlighting areas demanding attention or amendment, while enabling knowledge exchange across Arab countries to inspire alignment with best practices.
 

Our approach

Since the launch of the country reports, United Nations agencies have worked annually with national women’s machineries to improve the platform, integrating new legislation and updating indicator color codes. This process comprises:

1. Submission of updates: Member States provide information on enacted laws or amendments relevant to advancing women's rights and aligning with the initiative’s indicators.
2. Expert review: Partner United Nations agency experts evaluate the updates, determining necessary adjustments to indicator coding.
3. Matrix updates: Approved revisions are reflected in the regional and national matrices.
4. Annual announcement: Results are unveiled at a high-profile event—virtual or hosted by a member State—celebrating progress, sharing experiences, and fostering dialogue on gender justice in law.

Our partners

Partners include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UN-Women, and the Centre of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR). The initiative serves policymakers, national women’s machineries, research institutions, and civil society.
 

Our activities

ESCWA and its partners leverage the initiative to empower member States by:

• Conducting rigorous assessments of national laws and policies to ensure they guarantee equality, justice and protection from discrimination and violence, while identifying gaps that hinder alignment with global commitments.
• Monitoring regional progress and spotlighting transformative legislative, political and socio-economic developments.
• Offering robust tools and platforms to measure legal progress, access data, and facilitate experience exchange.
• Assisting member States in harmonizing national laws with international frameworks, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, and SDG target 5.1.