TUNISIAN RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION

UNCLAS TUNIS 000886 SIPDIS S/GWI FOR BENNETT AND GHORI; ALSO FOR NEA/MAG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KWMN KPAO PHUM TS SUBJECT: TUNISIAN RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THE "16-DAY CAMPAIGN" Ref: STATE 120322 Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: This cable is in response to the Department's request for Post to organize activities and initiatives in honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) on November 25 and the "16-day Campaign." To commemorate this day, Embassy Tunis has highlighted the IDEVAW on its website, is working with a regional NGO and a women's organization to increase attention to the issue of violence against women, and has adapted IIP's op-ed for placement in the Tunisian press. Tunisia has a long tradition of supporting women's rights in the modern era and thus is a favorable climate for the Embassy to promote the IDEVAW. End summary ¶2. (SBU). In honor of the IDEVAW, Embassy Tunis created a new section of its trilingual website to focus on women's issues. This area, http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/policy/women.htm l, features important speeches made by the President and the Secretary voicing their strident opposition to violence against women, information and background about the work of the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and other international organizations to combat gender-related violence, and calls attention to the work of Tunisian activists and organizations that support and defend women's rights and freedoms. ¶3. (SBU) Embassy Tunis is working with the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR),a regional non-governmental organization, to publicize the organization's mission of increasing women's empowerment in the Arab world and to develop future programs and trainings between the Embassy and the organization. Additionally, the Information Officer meets monthly with a group of women involved in the development field in the private and public sectors in Tunisia that puts a specific focus on raising awareness about global women's issues. ¶4. (SBU) Embassy Tunis will seek placement for an op-ed under the name of the Ambassador calling attention to the right of women to be free from gender-based violence and honoring the IDEVAW and the "16-Day Campaign" in local media outlets. Because of its history of supporting women's rights and freedoms, Tunisia is a favorable environment in which to publicize the importance of the IDEVAW. The Tunisian government observed the IDEVAW on November 25th and put out an official statement in support of women's rights: http://www.tunisiaonlinenews.com/?p=29893. Additionally, the Tunisian First Lady has taken a personal interest in the rights of women and said last week that elimination of violence against women is a civil, social, and moral obligation. DESJARDINS