The Amman Principles for National Mechanisms for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls Executive Summary What are“The Amman Principles for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls”? The Amman Principles for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls are a set of 9 proposed fundamental principles and an accreditation framework designed to enhance the effectiveness of national mechanisms for gender equality around the world and equip them with the necessary powers and means to achieve their goals. These principles and their accreditation framework are modeled after the Paris Principles for national human rights institutions . They were developed through rigorous research that examined the progress made and the challenges faced by national mechanisms for gender equality in the Arab region and around the world. The research was followed by several expert meetings and consultations held with civil society and other relevant actors. shown. However, challenges facing these national mechanisms remain ominous and threatening to the pursuit of gender equality. These challenges lie in the lack of clarity in the allocation of tasks and powers, the lacking or weak political will, the limited competencies and gender equality expertise, the insufficient financial resources, the limited statistics and gender disaggregated data, the weak or irregular monitoring and the lack of accountability between the various bodies concerned with gender equality. They also lie in the contentious, and at times competitive, relations with civil society and women’s movements. But it is important to note that progress made and existing challenges are manifested within different countries in varying degrees. Results affirmed that progress has been made in terms of creating national mechanisms for gender equality in different forms around the world in compliance with international law. It showed that progress has been made in terms of reforming gender discriminatory laws and in the production of gender disaggregated data. Signs of promising collaborations between national mechanisms, civil societies, and members of parliaments have also been 1