Brussels, 09/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) has expressed concern that gender equality is not enshrined in the new approach on neighbourhood policy. In May of this year, the Commission brought forward a communication on “A new response to a changing neighbourhood”, which disappointed the Network. The Foreign Affairs Council of 1 December also highlighted the omission on gender equality. The EMHRN calls on the European institutions to add gender equality to the “deep democracy” criteria in future EU statements or conclusions and at the implementation stage in all bilateral relations with southern and eastern Mediterranean countries. Equal participation by women in public and political life should be explicitly mentioned within the framework of the European neighbourhood policy and should be included among the benchmarks in annual progress reports, the EMHRN argues. (MD/transl.rt)