PAM to evaluate the situation of women in connection with the changes brought about by the Arab Spring – Hon. Belassal at the Fez Forum

Hon. Chaoui Belassal (Morocco) represented the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) at
the Fez Forum on the theme of “Investment in Education, knowledge and social development: challenges
in the Arab World”, organized by The Moroccan Center for Interdisciplinary Strategic and International
Studies (CMIESI) on 28-30 March 2013.
in his intervention The PAM MP highlighted the issue of education, which encompasses all segments of
the population, regardless of their age, gender, religion or nationality. “We have the moral and
professional obligation to support, promote and advocate for access to education for all, and to use
education as an instrument to enhance democracy, tolerance, solidarity, integration, and most importantly,
social development, as well as to motivate the search for a better future for each individual and the
community to which they belong”, Hon. Belassal said.
He recalled that at PAM these themes are regularly tackled in different debates and reports. Since 2008, a
PAM Special Task Force on Gender Issues has also prepared numerous reports and resolutions, all
unanimously adopted by PAM members on the topics of Women in Political Life in the Mediterranean;
Achievement of Gender Equality; Domestic Violence and Education.
The Assembly has planned for the coming years to carry out an evaluation of the situation of women in
connection with the changes brought about by the Arab Spring. Women have been themselves in the
forefront of the fight for freedom, dignity and civil and political rights in the Arab Spring countries and
one cannot ignore such an important role in the context of the changing scenario in these Mediterranean
countries.
Hon. Belassal also referred to the excellent relation that PAM enjoys with CIMIESI, and with Prof.
Abdelhak Azzouzi, who has always been a close partner to PAM. The city of Fez is equally important to
the Assembly since it was here that the Fez Programme was initiated. This programme builds on a series
of actions in the field of education aimed at fostering cooperation and understanding amongst the member
states of PAM and the Mediterranean region as a whole. It refers to the promotion of higher education,
the organization of meetings between the PAM MPs and students, and the setting up of a “Summer
School”.
Concluding his address, Hon. Belassal said that PAM will continue to use its parliamentary tools in order
to achieve the very much needed stability and peace in the region, and it will continue to do so in the
coming years as a key regional institution.