On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Arab Council reaffirms its commitment to working towards enhancing women’s rights and combating all forms of violence against them, as this is a fundamental condition for building an Arab society based on equality and social justice.

The Arab Council sees this day as an opportunity to highlight the challenges women face in our societies. It stresses the importance of collective action to raise awareness and develop effective policies to reduce this destructive violence.

The Council calls for the strengthening of local and international laws that protect women’s rights and punish the perpetrators of crimes against them. It urges governments and the international community to cooperate in ensuring the elimination of such violence and to provide support to women at risk.

This issue is of particular importance given the significant challenges women face in conflict zones across the Arab region, including imprisonment, displacement, and sexual assaults.

The Arab Council emphasizes the specific suffering of Palestinian women, who are deliberately targeted through killings, displacement, and daily suffering under discriminatory practices. This has been revealed by recent testimonies from released female prisoners, who reported degrading treatment and violations of their dignity in Israeli prisons. The Council calls on international bodies to intervene for the release of all female prisoners and, pending that, to visit the women still in Israeli prisons and demand that the occupying authorities cease their abuse.

The Arab Council considers it one of the most urgent duties of the international community and UN organizations to respect human rights and ensure full protection for women and children during wars and conflicts. It believes that ending wars and achieving peace and stability remains the key to improving women’s conditions and eliminating the most severe forms of violence against them.

The Arab Council