Delegation of the European Union to the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community

10/21/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/21/2024 09:01

Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting - EU Statement on Reviewing 30 Years of Beijing Commitments to Accelerate Gender Equality in the ECE Region

EU Statement for the General Segment (item 4)

"Reviewing 30 Years of Beijing Commitments to Accelerate Gender Equality in the ECE Region"

Geneva, 21-22 October 2024

Madam/Mr Chair,

I have the honour to address this important regional review meeting on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

Next year, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Since then we have worked together to ensure that our national laws and policies meet the standards set by this roadmap and other international instruments. We have held each other accountable, civil society within our countries have held us accountable, and we are pleased to note the progress made in a number of areas.

At EU level, the first legislation on combatting violence against women and domestic violence has been adopted this year. Since our last review in 2019 the number of EU Member States that have ratified the Council of Europe's "Istanbul Convention" has increased to 22, with Latvia ratifying last year. The European Union itself joined the convention in 2023, being the only non-state party to it.

The EU has adopted legislation on work-life balance, to promote an equal share of caring responsibilities between men and women, and agreed to further enhance affordable, quality care services, which are key to women's labour market participation. We further adopted legislation on pay transparency, to support equal pay for equal work and work of equal value, and on gender balance on company boards, to ensure women's full, equal and meaningful participation in company decision making.

A lot remains to be done, as new forms of sexual and gender-based violence and exploitation emerge. This includes technology facilitated gender-based violence, which first and foremost targets women and girls. Combatting all forms of violence and harassment of women and girls, in all spheres of life both offline and online, is deeply interconnected with the objective of achieving gender equality.

Allow me to also highlight the crucial role that men and boys can play as allies, agents of change, as well as beneficiaries of gender equality. Achieving gender equality requires the active participation and commitment of both men and women, working together to dismantle systemic barriers and promote equal opportunities for all.

Madam/Mr Chair,

The EU will continue to lead by example in respecting, protecting and fulfilling all human rights, promoting gender equality, and upholding the rule of law. We will stand up against any attempt to backtrack on women's and girls' rights or the principle that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.

The President of the European Commission intends to keep gender equality as a top priority, with a Commissioner being given specific responsibility for equality. The incoming Commissioner has been invited to develop a Roadmap for Women's Rights by March 2025, to accompany the EU's work on a new Gender Equality Strategy.

We are less than six months away from the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, where we hope to see renewed and strong commitments. This is an opportune time to recall how systems and structures of inequality intersect with each other, and that discrimination against women and girls is exacerbated by war, climate change, poverty, and the gender pay gap. We call for continued strong cooperation at the UN to stand firm against the organised pushback against women's and girls' rights.