“The event was a great opportunity to bring the voice of Community Based Organizations, Women Led Organizations, and local NGOs to an international stage, and to stress the crucial role of localization in designing and implementing projects and programs in the Arab region, taking into account the voice of local women in particular.”
Dr. Marta Tarantino, researcher at the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) shared these thoughts during her participation in the panel discussion held by UN Women, entitled: “Displacement through a gender lens: progress, challenges and advancing partnerships”, on December 12, 2023, as a side event of the Global Refugee Forum 2023, held in Geneva, Switzerland, with representatives from Jordan, Colombia, France, Japan, and Uganda.
Tarantino underlined the importance of refugee response through a consisted and sustainable investment in localization and reinforcing Civil Society Organizations, particularly Women Led Organizations, in their daily engagement on the ground, maintaining that the empowerment of women refugees in Jordan remains a priority that can be achieved with international and regional commitment, adding that “grassroots organizations, more than others, have the capacity to localize.”
The event aimed at emphasizing the disproportionate effects of crises on women and girls, who constitute half of the displaced population, as well as discussing ways to go beyond short-term humanitarian responses, advocating for long-term solutions that empower women and girls with education, skills development, and socio-economic integration tools.
The panel discussion involved representatives from governments, women’s organizations, and women refugees, all of whom underscored the importance of sharing good practices and leveraging partnerships to advance gender equality in displacement settings, as well as acknowledging the increased care responsibilities shouldered by women, and the urgent need for policies recognizing and treating displaced women and girls equally.
The participants addressed various topics during their discussions, including: the widespread conflict and violence across the world, coupled with the increasing scale and frequency of climate-related disasters as the number of forcibly displaced people reached 110 million people worldwide at the end of June 2023 due to persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations, as well as the issues of women and displacement, the important of localization by local NGOs involved in tackling displacement, and gender equality.
Furthermore, the participants recommended fostering participatory decision-making processes that involve CSOs with women leadership in the allocation and management of funds, providing targeted and comprehensive capacity-building support to civil society organizations with women leadership on organizational skills (management, planning, and advocacy), along with developing funding mechanisms that prioritize inclusivity and equity in resource distribution, in addition to fostering private sector partnerships for the economic inclusion of refugees.
The Global Refugee Forum is held every four years and is the world’s largest international conference on refugees. It aims to support the practical implementation of the objectives set out in the Global Compact on Refugees, which are: “to ease pressure on host countries; to enhance refugee self-reliance; to expand access to third-country solutions; and to support conditions in countries of origin for the safe and dignified return of refugees.” The Forum also provides an opportunity for States and stakeholders to announce concrete pledges and contributions, highlight progress, share good practices, and identify the challenges and opportunities ahead.
