The EU Council will reaffirm, on Monday 26 November in Brussels, the determination of the EU and its Member States to make the full enjoyment of all human rights by women and girls, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls a priority in all areas of external action.
Indeed, it is planned that, in the margins of the meeting of Foreign Ministers, meeting in the 'Development' format, the Council conclusions on the implementation of Action Plan II (2016 - 2020) on gender equality and the empowerment of women in the context of the EU's external relations (see EUROPE 12143) will be adopted without debate. This framework for action was adopted following the UN Summit on Sustainable Development (see EUROPE 11400, 11396).
The Council should recall that the EU and its Member States want to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), and welcome the progress made last year on SDG 5. It should also stress the importance of intensifying efforts to meet the minimum performance standards (the OECD Gender Equality Marker, gender analysis for all priority sectors, the use of gender-disaggregated data throughout the project and programme cycle, the required gender equality expertise duly used, the duty to report on the objectives of the Action Plan). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)