4-5 July 2022, Lisbon – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) will hold the inaugural session of its Women Parliamentary Forum (WPF) in Lisbon, kindly hosted by the Assembleia da República, at Palácio de São Bento.

Besides all the many efforts at a national and international level, gender inequalities continue to be a reality.. In most parts of the world, including in the Eur-Mediterranean and Gulf regions, women and girls remain the main victims of gender-based violence and discrimination to access education, employment, and health services.

Since its inception, PAM has been engaged on gender issues and gender equality has always been a priority in the framework of its Standing Committee on Human Right and Dialogue among Civilizations. The WPF will serve as anPAM dedicatedplatform to discuss policies and legislations that can be put in place to ensure a regional parliamentary strategy for promoting further gender equality and address sudden developments.

Hon. Gennaro Migliore, PAM President, and Hon. Joana Lima, Head of the Portuguese delegation to PAM, will address the Opening Ceremony, during which H.E. Ana Catarina Mendes, Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and for Parliamentary Affairs, Portugal, will deliver a keynote speech.  

The inaugural session will tackle the theme of “Women refugees in 2022 in the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf region”. It will offer an opportunity to debate the condition of the 5.5 millions of women and children refugees, who were forced to escape from Ukraine because of the ongoing Russian brutal aggression, as well as of the millions of refugees originating from the Middle East and Sahel. . The panel will also look at the danger’s women refugees are exposed to, including trafficking and exploitation.

The second day will be dedicated to “Gender equality in Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf countries: perspectives in a post-pandemic era” with a focus on how women played and still play a significant role confronting the consequences of Covid 19, including in the education, social, health and economic   fields.//