Print
See related documents
Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 15034 | 20 January 2020
Towards an ambitious Council of Europe agenda for gender equality
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully
examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2157 (2019) “Towards
an ambitious Council of Europe agenda for gender equality” which
it forwarded to the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) and to the
Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence (GREVIO), for information and possible comments.
2. Action to promote gender equality and the full enjoyment of
human rights by all women and girls remains a priority for the Council
of Europe and the Committee of Ministers confirms its commitment
to this. It recalls that a number of successive chairs have provided
increased support for gender issues, two recent examples being the
Finnish and French presidencies, which in particular paved the way
for more active efforts to promote Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)1 on
preventing and combating sexism as well as the process of ratification of
the Istanbul Convention and commitment to the values it represents;
in the same vein, the current Georgian Presidency has taken the
initiative of an informal exchange of views on cyberviolence against
women and girls.
3. The Committee of Ministers nevertheless shares the view of
the Assembly that, despite the progress made in combating discrimination
against women and girls, “gender equality remains far from a reality
in practice” and that the Council of Europe must make “renewed efforts”
in this area. To this end, the Organisation devised the Gender Equality
Strategy 2018-2023, which constitutes a framework for its role and
action in such matters and provides policy guidance and support
for member States in this area.
4. Gender mainstreaming in all Council of Europe policies and
activities, to which the Assembly refers in its recommendation,
is among the basic objectives of the Strategy. This applies to the
policies of States as well as to the bodies of the Council of Europe
and their various activities. As part of its review of the intergovernmental
structures proposed for 2020-2021, the Committee of Ministers has
taken care to ensure that each steering committee appoints a gender
equality rapporteur and/or takes due account of a gender perspective
in the performance of its tasks. It notes that with respect to the
Committee of Ministers, the Chair of its Rapporteur Group on Human
Rights monitors the work carried out and the matters referred to
the Committee in the field of equality.
5. Protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking
women and girls became a high priority in 2018 and has been included
as a sixth new objective in the Gender Equality Strategy. In order
to give full effect to this objective, for the 2020-2021 biennium,
the Committee of Ministers has tasked the GEC with preparing a new
legal instrument in this area. The Assembly likewise emphasises
the importance of a better gender balance and promoting the place
of women in political and public decision-making bodies. The Committee
of Ministers underlines that these principles constitute too a strategic
objective of the Council of Europe. That is why, for instance, in
the context of decisions on the selection and election of judges
to the European Court of Human Rights, it “invited all stakeholders
to give due attention to this objective where gender balance is insufficiently
ensured in the various bodies involved in the selection and election
process as well as in the composition of the Court itself”.
6. With regard to the question of non-sexist language, the Committee
of Ministers refers to the Recommendation on preventing and combating
sexism, which devotes a full chapter to non-sexist language and
communication. In the light of these provisions, it notes that Instruction
No. 33 of 1 June 1994 on the use of non-sexist language in the Council
of Europe now appears to be lagging behind the practices that apply
in many countries where the official languages of the Organisation
are spoken. It therefore seems appropriate to consider updating
the relevant texts and to encourage the use of inclusive vocabulary
and language, and to ensure that any text updating Instruction No.
33 is adequately promoted and taken into account.
7. In conclusion, the Committee of Ministers wishes to assure
the Assembly that the Council of Europe is actively promoting equality
issues, including at the global level. It regularly participates
in events organised by partner organisations active in this field.
During the 2020-2021 biennium, furthermore, the GEC will be called upon
to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development, in particular with regard to Goal 5:
Gender equality and Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions.