Brussels, 27/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 26 October, the Council of the EU reiterated its determination to work on gender equality, and its commitment to promote human rights, women's empowerment and to eradicate gender-based violence.
The unanimous conclusions on the 2016-2020 Gender Action Plan on gender equality bear witness to this determination. The conclusions were adopted without debate on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs/Development Council in Luxembourg and confirm the EU's commitment to: - ensuring girls' and women's physical and psychological integrity; - promoting the social and economic rights/empowerment of women and girls; - strengthening girls' and women's voice and participation; - shifting the institutional culture to more effectively deliver on EU commitments.
The Council hails the Addis Ababa action plan and the 2030 sustainable development agenda, and welcomes the nomination of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Principal Advisor on Gender, dedicated to women, peace and security and all other gender-related matters. It calls on the European Commission and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini to deliver on all four pivotal areas. The Council believes the joint staff working document on “Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Transforming the lives of Girls and Women through EU External Relations 2016-2020” is an important contribution (see EUROPE 11400).
The Council calls on all parties to secure sufficient financial and human resources in order to fully deliver on the EU's commitments, and it stresses the need for increased funding within the existing envelopes to ensure the effective implementation of the actions identified.
CONCORD (the European NGO confederation for relief and development) would have liked the Council to mention a fixed percentage of financing specifically committed to targeted action and guaranteeing that gender equality will be well integrated in all programmes. It would also like more clarity as to how capacity will be strengthened both within the EU and in the EU delegations. CONCORD is concerned that the working document does not guarantee full implementation of the action plan, given that the EU actors will only be obliged to report on one objective per thematic area. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)