The Union of Moroccan Women Judges (UMWJ) is a Moroccan judicial association founded by a group of distinguished women judges, which is also a chapter of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) in Morocco since May 2016 when the establishment of the Moroccan branch was announced to more than a thousand judges who belong to 82 countries during the International Conference of Women Judges in Washington DC (the 13th biennial conference).

Morocco was the first Arab country to establish a chapter of the International Association of Women Judges. This was done thanks to the abilities and qualifications shown by Moroccan women judges during the conferences in which they participated, whether in Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan or The United States of America.

The UMWJ organized many conferences and round tables about important legal issues such as:

• the concept of minor marriages in Morocco and the importance of raising awareness about such topic in order to help young girls and their mothers to get legal advice and be informed of their legal rights;
• Sextortion which is a program between the international human rights conventions and domestic law about discrimination and violence against women to stop the abuse of power in the public and the private sectors;
• And the issues of human trafficking and the importance of promoting human rights against the crime of human trafficking.

It also gives us pride and honor as a Moroccan association to be elected to host the 16^th Biennial conference of the IAWJ, which will take place in Marrakesh-Morocco.

For reference, the goals of the Union of Moroccan Women Judges are the same as those of the International Association of Women Judges, which was established in 1991 and is a non-profit organization and an NGO based in Washington DC – USA. The IAWJ unites women judges from diverse judicial systems who share a commitment to the rule of law and equal access to justice.

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The Union of Moroccan Women Judges