On World Refugee Day, marked on 20 June, the League of Arab States, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Regional Office of the United Nations Population Fund for Arab States (UNFPA), and the Regional Office of UN Women for Arab States (UNWomen), launched the “#ProtectHer” campaign across all social media platforms. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the risks of violence against women and girls in refugee situations in the Arab region.
The campaign is part of implementing the “Arab Strategy for Prevention and Response to Combat All Forms of Violence in Asylum Status, Especially Sexual Violence against Women and Girls,” which was adopted by the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level during its 155th session in 2021. This strategy seeks to enhance the protection of women and girls.
Arab-Strategy-English-merged.pdf
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the seriousness of violence against women and girls in refugee situations and to mobilise compassion towards survivors and community solidarity for them. It also seeks to create a supportive environment for decision-makers at various levels and encourage stakeholders to take concrete measures to provide necessary services to refugee women and girls. Messages were published over 10 days, starting from 19 June 2024, emphasising the humanitarian aspect, affirming the right of refugee women and girls to a life free of violence and fear, and highlighting the necessity of securing protection mechanisms and access to health care services, education, psychological support, legal support, and life-saving services.
As part of the campaign, recorded messages were published by several key figures: Her Excellency Ambassador Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Social Affairs Sector at the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States; Ambassador Dr. Hanan Hamdan, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the Arab Republic of Egypt and to the League of Arab States; Ms. Laila Bakr, Regional Director of the United Nations Population Fund for the Arab States; and Dr. Susan Mikhael, Director of the Regional Office of UN Women for Arab States.
Additionally, the campaign featured recorded messages from two members of the Arab Network for Women Peace Brokers, who supported the campaign: Her Excellency Ambassador Amal Jado, Senior Advisor to the Palestinian Prime Minister for International Affairs, and Dr. Awadiya Muhammad from the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The campaign serves as an opportunity to renew the collective commitment and shared responsibility towards translating compassion into concrete actions that provide hope for refugee women and girls. It also calls for uniting efforts to ensure their well-being and protection.
