EU Statement – Plenary session 10 at the 2024 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference

Warsaw, 10 October 2024

1. Gender equality is a core value of the EU. The EU is committed to support
women’s and girls’ equal, full, effective and meaningful participation, in all their diversity, including in all spheres of public and political life, and promote whole-of-society efforts to engage men and boys as allies and beneficiaries for gender equality in eliminating all gender inequalities, addressing discriminatory laws and social norms and combating gender stereotypes.

2. Violence against women and girls is a serious obstacle to achieving gender equality. The EU strongly condemns all kinds of reprisals, violence, threats and attacks, both offline and online, against all women and girls, in particular the ultimate expression of gender-based violence; the killing of women or girls because of their gender. The EU also condemns all threats and attacks targeting women human rights defenders, women journalists, women peacebuilders, women-led organisations, women activists, politicians and trade unionists, which also constitute a particular threat against democracy.

3. We strongly condemn the violence against women and girls in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including as a shameful tactic of war by Russian Armed Forces, as substantiated in the reports of the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, the UNSG Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Moscow Mechanism expert missions and ODIHR. International human rights law and international humanitarian law must be upheld and perpetrators brought to account.

4. Russia’s brutal war highlights the urgent need to pay particular attention to the
situation of girls and women in conflicts and strengthen our efforts to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The EU fully supports the development of an OSCE-wide Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

5. EU’s accession to the Istanbul convention shows our commitment to stepping up actions against gender-based violence. The EU directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence constitutes another milestone – criminalising physical and psychological violence against women across the EU, both offline and online, as well as female genital mutilation and forced marriages.

6. We call on participating States to implement OSCE commitments to end violence against women, to conduct effective investigations into these crimes, ensure accountability, and provide all victims with safe and unhindered access to justice and adequate redress. We also call on participating States to implement all commitments on equality of rights, equal opportunities, non-discrimination and the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, as well as to promote women’s economic empowerment, which is a matter of human rights and crucial for women to take control of their lives.

7. We thank civil society organisation for their decisive work for gender equality, and the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

The Candidate Countries NORTH MACEDONIA*, MONTENEGRO*, ALBANIA*, UKRAINE, the REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA*, and GEORGIA, and the EFTA countries ICELAND, LIECHTENSTEIN and NORWAY, members of the European Economic Area, as well as ANDORRA and SAN MARINO align themselves with this statement.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process