"Tadayumun" Discusses the Reflections of the United Nations Initiative 80 on Women's Rights

The president of the administrative body of the association, Dr. Iman Al-Hussein, emphasized the importance of following international developments that reflect on women's rights and the work of civil society institutions, pointing out that enhancing women's rights requires a real partnership between national institutions, civil society, and international organizations.

For her part, the executive director of the association, Inam Al-Asha, said that the UN80 initiative represents a broad reform path for the United Nations system that includes operational, executive, and structural aspects, stressing the importance of reform leading to more effective performance while maintaining clarity of competencies, specialization, accountability, and the ability of civil society and women to participate and influence.

She added that the discussion about the proposal to merge UN Women and UNFPA should start from knowledge and evidence to assess opportunities and risks, emphasizing that issues of equality, combating violence, health, and sexual and reproductive rights are human rights and development issues that should not be dealt with from an administrative or financial perspective only.

For his part, Al-Shammaile confirmed that protecting women's rights constitutes a fundamental pillar in the modernization process witnessed by Jordan, reviewing the constitutional and legislative reforms that have enhanced their protection and empowerment, noting that the National Center for Human Rights is following up on efforts related to preserving the legal gains of women.

He also affirmed support for international efforts aimed at improving the efficiency of United Nations institutions, while cautioning against the merger proposal, warning that structural integration or budget cuts if they do not take into account the nature of the competencies of each entity may lead to a decline in the priority of some issues or a reduction in the level of services provided to women and girls.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Population, Dr. Issa Al-Masarwa, addressed the issue of merging United Nations organizations, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of integration and its impact on the effectiveness of UN work.

The panel included two sessions during which the gender expert, Naha Mahriz, presented a presentation on the UN80 initiative and the roles of United Nations bodies, while the Director General of the Women's Legal and Social Counseling Center in Palestine, Randa Saniora, addressed the importance of the diversity and specialization of UN mechanisms, and the Commissioner for Promotion at the National Center for Human Rights, Lawyer Nasrin Zariqat, presented a legal reading on institutional reform.

The second session also discussed the effects of restructuring on women's rights, governance, and empowerment, with the participation of Dr. Nour Al-Kubaisi from Jordan, Dr. Fatima Zahra Swas from Algeria, Ruba Matarneh from the Women's Committees Gathering, and Dr. Sumayya Masin from Morocco.

The participants emphasized the importance of not limiting the evaluation of reforms to administrative efficiency and cost reduction, but rather to include their actual impact on human rights, programs, and services, and the need to preserve institutional specialization and the presence of the Jordanian, Arab, and civil society voice in discussions related to the future of the United Nations system.

It is worth noting that the UN80 initiative, launched by the United Nations with the aim of making the United Nations system more efficient, coherent, and effective, includes paths for realigning programs and structures and improving coordination, and the proposal to evaluate the possibility of merging UN Women and UNFPA is one of the reform files being discussed within it.