WUNRN
JUSTICE & DIGNITY INITIATIVE -
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA - GENDER
Dec. 9, 2011 — The celebration of Human Rights Day was
very poignant to many this year. The topple of many governments due to Arab
Spring uprisings gave proof to the world that voices in unison that demand
rights can evoke changes even within regimes that were among the worst
violators of human rights.
Sixty-three years ago, the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights was created to be an international document outlining a set of
universal human rights that countries could agree to defend. Human Rights Day
commemorates this document so the world does not forget those who still
struggle for those rights.
The revolutions in
The fear that many have is that after years
of repression these budding, new governments and societies will encounter
challenges and obstacles they are not prepared to overcome. New governments are
fragile and can easily fall back into comfortable patterns that will lead them
back to pre-revolution days.
To help prevent this from happening, CEDPA
joined together with a consortium of partners led by IREX and sponsored by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
to implement the Justice and Dignity Initiative for the Middle East and
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Participants
from a Global Women in Management Workshop based in |
The initiative will seek out organizations
that promote justice and human rights and support them in their efforts to
ensure that the rights of their fellow citizens are protected. The consortium
will offer not only direct technical assistance from experts who know the
region and its nuances, but will help establish networks where the
organizations can seek support and share experiences with others in the region.
With a long history of capacity building
and governance work, CEDPA has established a reputation in the region working
not only with women, but with other under-served populations. Whether building
capacity of grassroots
women leaders, ensuring
children receive an education through our non-formal education programs,
making certain that youth are
productive citizens or guaranteeing that policy makers consider
gender when developing policy, CEDPA transformed the lives of many so they
can help develop their countries.
CEDPA, among others, will provide expertise
in working with women and under-served populations and building grassroots
networks in the consortium. Women, whose voices were clear during the protests
and struggles, continue to face obstacles in the Middle East and North Africa,
and it is important that their rights and needs be taken into account as these
new governments emerge.
The project will begin in