Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on 1^st January 2015 and merging 6 French public agencies under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers programme engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, post-crisis/ stability, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder programmes, EF can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties. Besides, EF has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international programmes.

The 2021 Joint Communication on a “Renewed partnership with the Southern Neighborhood - A new Agenda for the Mediterranean” underlines the importance to give special attention to the promotion of the role of women in society and the economy as part of a renewed commitment to the rule of law, human and fundamental rights, equality, democracy and good governance. In line with EU external and internal policy areas set under the Gender Action Plan (GAP) III which scales up the EU contribution to reach SDG 52 in all EU internal and external policy areas and across the 2030 Agenda, the European Commission has adopted in 2022 the Action “Women Empowerment Hub in Lebanon (WE HUB)” financed under the Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe).

The overall objective of the action, with a budget of EUR 6,000,000, is to promote the advancement and empowerment of women for effective realisation of gender equality. The specific objectives of the project are:

SO1. Increase women’s leadership and participation in political and public sphere;

SO2. Foster an enabling environment for better engagement of women in the workforce;

SO3. Enhance key legislative reform and measures that protect women from all forms of violence.

The expected results of the action are as follows:

Under SO1:

·       Women feel more empowered to engage in political life;

·       Women are more visible in public space. They gain competencies, networks, confidence and legitimacy

·       Policy dialogue at national level is enhanced and the political and legislative framework is more compliant with gender equality

Under SO2:

·       Women and civil society are better equipped to address discriminatory social norms and gender stereotypes.

·       Policies stemming from evidence-based information and recommendations to combat gender discrimination and inequalities are adopted by different stakeholders on a systemic level.

·       More women can access employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, in non-traditional and unconventional sectors

Under SO3:

·       Actors in the line of protection offer better services to VGB-survivor and their coordination with NGOs is enhanced;

·       The access to justice of GBV survivors is enhanced;

·       The existing legal framework for protection of women from violence is more enforced;

WE-HUB Project will be implemented by Expertise France and GIZ, as follows:

Expertise France will be in charge of components 1 and 3 and responsible for the overall coordination of the project and donor reporting. GIZ will be in charge of component 2. 

The activities planned under Component 3 / SO3 are the following:

·       3.1. Assessment on the gaps in the implementation of existing laws on GBV;

·       3.2. Awareness sessions about civil rights and legal duties in case of GBVs and information about existing services to several target (to be defined in line with the assessment);

·       3.3. Capacity reinforcement of the legal taskforce;

·       3.4. Assistance to GBV survivors in coordination with NCLW, ISF (legal department and Hotline), the Ministry of Justice (the academy of judges) and the MoSA (women's affairs department);