The General Women's Union, GWU, has participated in the 7th session of the Committee on Women at ESCWA, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, hosted in the Omani capital of Muscat.

The Committee on Women in its 7th session aimed to promote cooperation between member states and with regional organisations active in the advancement of Arab women.

Representatives of governments, national institutions for the advancement of women and line ministries as well as UN and Arab League specialised agencies and relevant civil society organisations and observers, reviewed the progress achieved in the Arab region towards the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 20 years after their adoption, and the effects of international development processes, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, on women in Arab countries.

Discussions also addressed the challenges faced by women in the Arab region, especially in conflict-affected countries and areas, and the proposed programme of work for the biennium 2016-2017 in the advancement of women.

Ahlam Al Lamki, head of Research and Development at the GWU, presented a report on the progress achieved by the UAE in the implementation of activities related to the advancement of women under the ESCWA programme of work, and the implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee at its 6th session, which was held in Kuwait.

'Government agencies and civil society organisations for advancement of women, led by the GWU, have been working tirelessly, since the establishment of the UAE in 1971, to remove any cultural and social barriers impeding the progress of women,' she said.

'Education is at the heart of these priorities,' she added, noting that women in the UAE had made significant gains in economy, politics, decision-making process and public life.