Women, peace and security: Council adopts conclusions

Brussels [ENA] The Council adopted conclusions on women, peace and security (WPS). The Council recalls the commitments of the European Union and its member states to the full implementation of the WPS agenda, which consists of UN security council resolution 1325 and its follow-up resolutions, ensuring that it is fully integrated into all EU policies and efforts in promoting the important role of women's engagement in support of

of sustainable peace, security, human rights, justice and development. In its conclusions, the Council welcomes the new EU strategic approach to WPS. This approach emphasises the need for systematic integration of a gender perspective into all fields and activities in the domain of peace and security, and overall in EU external actions. It also emphasises the need for the EU to engage, empower, protect, and support women and girls in order to help all countries achieving sustainable and lasting peace and security as intrinsic components of human rights and sustainable development.

Gender equality and Human Rights are at the core of European values and constitute stand- alone priorities mainstreamed across all European Union policies. The Council recalls the commitments of the European Union and its Member States to the full implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, which consists of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and its follow-up resolutions, ensuring that it is fully integrated into all EU efforts in support of sustainable peace, security, human rights, justice and development, in the context of EU cooperation with other regional and international organizations as envisaged by the EU Global Strategy.

This shall be done by integrating gender perspectives into all EU policies, including security, conflict prevention and resolution, as well as long-term peace building. In this respect, the EU and its Member States support the implementation of the WPS agenda in the UN. The Council welcomes the new EU Strategic Approach to Women, Peace and Security (EU Strategic Approach to WPS), which builds upon and replaces the 2008 Comprehensive Approach to the EU implementation of the UNSCRs 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security.

The EU Strategic Approach to WPS emphasizes the need for concrete commitments and actions as well as the need to engage, empower, protect, and support women and girls in order to achieve sustainable and lasting peace and security as intrinsic components of human rights and sustainable development, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals and the Consensus for Development. In addition, the Council welcomes the approach of the WPS Agenda in addressing

conflict- related sexual violence as part of a continuum of gender-based vulnerabilities and violence closely intertwined with persistent inequalities and broader attacks on gender equality, women’s and girls' human rights, including online, digital and cyber violence. The Council reaffirms that the WPS Agenda is to be given effect in all EU external action and as such is an important element of the Integrated Approach to external conflict and crises, given the challenges as laid out in the UN Global Study on UNSCR 1325.

The Council recalls the commitment of the European Union and its Member States to continue to use gender analysis, collect disaggregated data (including but not necessarily limited to sex, age and disability) and mainstream gender perspectives as a key strategy, together with gender balance and specific actions to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment, throughout all relevant policy frameworks including in the areas of foreign and security policy, development, trade, finance, humanitarian aid, migration, justice and education, as well as preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism.

The EU Strategic Approach to WPS identifies actions under the key areas of prevention, protection, relief and recovery and under the two overarching and cross-cutting aspects of gender mainstreaming and participation. These actions are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The Council also welcomes that the diversity and intersecting elements of identities are acknowledged in the EU Strategic Approach to WPS including the emphasis put on its implementation by and for the benefit of all. In this context, it is important to continue to engage men and boys as positive agents for change.

The Council affirms that the implementation of the EU Strategic Approach to WPS should be achieved through political and diplomatic engagement of EU leadership, enabling women’s equitable and meaningful participation in all EU external action, not only on topics of women's rights, but all action including on peace and security. The Council reaffirms that the WPS Agenda aims to ensure that the rights, agency, and protection of women and girls are always observed and upheld before, during and after conflict.

Thus, the WPS Agenda is universally applicable and must therefore be implemented internally within the European Union and its Member States, as well as in the external action so that actions can be coherent, credible and impactful. This will be achieved by integrating a gender perspective and women's participation in all contexts, from conflict analysis to subsequent actions, including dialogue facilitation, mediation, peace negotiations and other conflict prevention and resolution tools. It will also be achieved by implementing specific measures, including training of military and police forces, aimed at gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The Council recalls that the responsibility for the implementation of the WPS Agenda lies with the Member States as well as all other European Union actors, including the European External Action Service (EEAS), EU Delegations, the EEAS Principal Advisor on Gender and WPS, the Commission services, EU Special Representatives, and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations, which is crucial in the promotion and implementation of the EU Strategic Approach to WPS. It is important that the EU Strategic Approach to WPS is implemented by entities maintaining links with the EU, such as contractors or organisations funded by the European Union.

The Council underlines the importance of reflecting the EU Strategic Approach to WPS in the development of National Action Plans by Member States. The Council welcomes the complementarity and synergies between the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP II) and the EU Strategic Approach to WPS. The Council underlines that the EU Strategic Approach to WPS and GAP II are both relevant policy frameworks for eliminating all forms of discrimination and violence that women and girls suffer from. Furthermore, the Council encourages the EEAS and the Commission services to continue to explore simplified, user-friendly and effective ways of measuring, monitoring, evaluating and reporting progress in this area.

The Council further looks forward to the establishment of a concise, specific, measurable and achievable Action Plan by the first quarter of 2019 for the effective implementation and promotion of the EU Strategic Approach to WPS. This Action Plan is to be synchronised with the GAP II. The Council welcomes the prospect of strengthening and establishing partnerships and alliances with other international, multilateral and regional organisations, and in particular, the proposal to establish formalised platforms for cooperation at all levels.

These should include the setting-up of appropriate fora to exchange experiences, best practices and foster interaction amongst practitioners, including gender advisors and WPS focal points, as well as supporting existing networks of women mediators for the effective and sustainable implementation of the EU Strategic Approach to WPS. The Council welcomes the inclusive process followed for the preparation and drafting of the EU Strategic Approach on WPS through dialogue with Commission services, EU Member States, Gender Advisors from the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations, civil society partners, representatives of academia and other multilateral and regional partners.

An inclusive approach should remain as the standard working practice also for future drafting processes. The Council underlines the importance of the close engagement and cooperation with third countries, partners, and civil society, including local, regional and international civil society organisations, grassroots activists and women’s rights organisations, at all stages of implementation of the EU Strategic Approach to WPS and throughout the policy cycle, from design to evaluation. Such cooperation should take place in an inclusive and objective manner.

The Council invites the High Representative to come back to report on the activities and progress of the EU Informal Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security and on the most effective ways and concrete steps to achieve the overarching EU objectives on gender equality, women's empowerment and the full implementation of the WPS agenda. The EU Strategic Approach to Women, Peace and Security was prepared at the request of the Member States of the European Union and coordinated by the European External Action Service (EEAS) in consultation with all relevant stakeholders at the EU institutional level.