The post-2015-agenda: Gender equality and Gender empowermentThe post-2015-agenda: Gender equality and Gender empowerment

by Prof. Dr. h.c. Christa Randzio-Plath, at the Dialogforum of VENRO and the Stiftung Forum und Entwicklung on 21st of April 2015 in Berlin

Dear friends and sisters, welcome to our panel. We want to change the world since the first UN Women conference in 1975. Now we realize that gender equality needs still at least 75 years. No region or country in the world knows gender equality. The gender gap is big and the better ranking of Nordic countries is no excuse for others not to improve performance and especially end violence and gender pay discrimination. Civil society has to join the women´s organizations and women´s movements’ worldwide calling for a stand-alone goal for gender equality and gender empowerment and a cross-cutting issues in all sectors of concern. We have to stand up and relate women`s rights again as the movements did in 1995 obliging the UN family to recognize that gender equality is a human right issue.
This is the century of women: we will not realize our full potential if half of humanity continues to be held back. Productive factor to help the world economy to find its way out of weak performances and crises. Women are half of mankind and must get half of planet earth not only half of heaven. But there has to be political will which was missing with the implementation of the progressive and promising UN Platform of Action in Beijing 2015. The balance sheet of 20 years Beijing is disappointing. Despite progress essentially brought forward by courageous women organisations and especially in legal reforms and equality institutions there is much do be done to guarantee women equal access to resources men have or equal participation in political, economic and societal life like men have. Gender equality is and remains a human rights and a power relation issue.
• Progress has occurred not because of the benevolence of governments, but because feminist organizations and women human rights defenders have fought for it, every step of the way. The attempt of governments to marginalize the role of these groups is an affront to women, everywhere
• An enabling environment and resources are necessary to allow women’s organizations, feminist organizations and women human rights defenders to be able to do their work free from violence.
• The emerging challenges have to be addressed that are setting back our fight for equality and the realization of the human rights of all women and girls. These include increasing fundamentalisms, violent extremism, increased number of displaced persons, increasing inequalities within and between countries, and climate change and ocean acidification, among others.

The evidence is clear: women and girls suffer the disproportionate impact of these challenges and without real commitment to address them, gender equality and the full realization of the human rights of women and girls is a pipe dream. It is necessary

• To ensure real accountability for governments including detailed measures to reform and strengthen public institutions to address the structural causes of gender inequality;
• ensuring an enabling economic environment for women’s rights and gender equality beyond sector specific financing and genderresponsive budgeting;
• creating national, regional and international systems that hold State and non-State actors, including multilateral institutions, to account for their role in perpetuating gender inequality and violations of the human rights of women and girls; and
• affirming the principle of international solidarity as the basis for international partnership between States for just, sustainable and equitable development.
• To affirm the strong linkages between Beijing, Post-2015 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Realizing gender equality, empowerment and the human rights of women and girls will be critical for the success of the post 2015 development agenda.

The Political Declaration (CSW) states unequivocal support for the stand-alone gender equality goal and targets as defined by the Open Working Group and recognizes the centrality of gender equality, empowerment and human rights of women and girls for sustainable development and commits to gender-sensitive targets and indicators
While the millennium development goals concentrated on the social and educational and health situation of women, the negotiations about the post-2015-agenda concentrate on gender equality and gender empowerment as a stand-alone goal as well as cross-cutting issue which have to be respected and mainstreamed in all sectors. Civil society world-wide as well as the women’s major group and VENRO rightly lobby for the goal number five within the 17 targets of the Open Working Group document. The commission on the status of women supports in its agreed conclusion of the 59th session in March 2015 gender equality and the empowerment of women as a stand-alone goal and calls for the implementation of the Beijing platform of action and the 12 strands of action from 1995.
It is disappointing that the UN Secretary General`s synthesis report lacks ambition and a strategy for the transformative and action- oriented agenda needed to achieve a gender-equality and human rights-based sustainable development for all. Structural transformations are necessary to ensure the success of the post-2015-agenda as a universal development agenda, which calls for an economic, ecological and social sustainable development. Let us recall the definition of the Brundtland-report defining sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
The report unfortunately neglects the critical importance of gender justice and downplays the critical importance of gender equality as a women’s and girl’s human right. The 17 goals have to be respected, implemented and monitored and gender mainstreamed. The reduction of the worldwide challenges to six essential elements people, planet, partnership, justice, prosperity and dignity downplays the critical importance of gender equality and women’s rights for the framing and implementation of the agenda.
If this century is to be the century of women, then the post-2015-agenda has to take into account the full potential of humanity. This will not be possible if half of humanity continues to be held back. Inclusion as a target is not enough because inclusion is not transformational. Therefore, we have to call on our governments to fix gender equality as a stand-alone goal in order to reduce structural barriers to gender equality.
The G7 summit 2015 has to do everything that women not only hold up half of heaven, but women should also get half of planet Earth. The challenge is a break-through with the political and economic empowerment of women. Empowerment is the power to act and requires extensive initiatives that support women and girls. VENRO expects from the G7 and the German presidency especially the following:
1. Enable good work
The creation of sufficient, fairly paid employment and working relationships with adequate social security for women in the formal as well as in the informal sector has to be a concern of the G7 that should be realized world-wide. Human rights and labour standards have to be implemented in the process. The social security of women and girls throughout their entire life cycle has to be improved. Vocational education and training can contribute to the improvement of women’s chances in the labour market. However, the importance of a good basic and secondary education for women and girls as a basic vocational education and training must not be ignored. Additionally, more must be invested in teaching women to read and write, as two thirds of all illiterate people worldwide are still women and girls. Women and girls also need access to academic and technical occupation in order to overcome the existing gender disparity in these fields.

2. Combatting violence against girls and women
Violence against girls and women is a human rights violation that affects 35 percent of all girls and women worldwide. For those affected, it constitutes first a danger to life and limb resulting in death or life-long injuries and traumas. Violence against women generates not only suffering but also high costs – not only for the affected women themselves but also for the economy and the companies, e.g. due to the absence of affected women from their workplace. Therefore the reduction of economic inequality of women and girls also requires combatting violence against them. The G7 countries have to make combatting violence against girls and women a priority in their development cooperation. This includes the financial support of women’s organisations that campaign for the rights of girls and women and their protection from violence. It also includes consistent implementation of existing statutory provisions, including corresponding criminal prosecutions. In many cases this also means qualifying the responsible bodies responsible for criminal proceedings, including victim protection.

3. Sexual and reproductive health and rights
Expected is a commitment by the G7 to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as well as by 2030 ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services.

4. Financing for development and gender
All decisions on financing for development have to respect the gender perspective. Gender budgeting has to be introduced in all UN member countries. Thus highlighting equality orientation on budgetary matters.

At the same time financing on development by private investment needs to predicate private sector involvement on social/environmental and equality accountability. The elevated role of the private sector endangers small farmers and especially women. It also endangers land property rights by land grabbing and violence and may also further strengthen the detriment the women’s equality, the principle of international solidarity and a global partnership for development and rights if not accompanied by strict rules respecting decent work, social responsibility of the company and infrastructure investment facilitating the access to markets for women.

Finally the importance of adequate sustained and unconditional financing and support for women’s organisations, movements and women human rights defenders has to be emphasized. karte Online by Prof. Dr. h.c. Christa Randzio-Plath, at the Dialogforum of VENRO and the Stiftung Forum und Entwicklung on 21st of April 2015 in Berlin

Dear friends and sisters, welcome to our panel. We want to change the world since the first UN Women conference in 1975. Now we realize that gender equality needs still at least 75 years. No region or country in the world knows gender equality. The gender gap is big and the better ranking of Nordic countries is no excuse for others not to improve performance and especially end violence and gender pay discrimination. Civil society has to join the women´s organizations and women´s movements’ worldwide calling for a stand-alone goal for gender equality and gender empowerment and a cross-cutting issues in all sectors of concern. We have to stand up and relate women`s rights again as the movements did in 1995 obliging the UN family to recognize that gender equality is a human right issue.
This is the century of women: we will not realize our full potential if half of humanity continues to be held back. Productive factor to help the world economy to find its way out of weak performances and crises. Women are half of mankind and must get half of planet earth not only half of heaven. But there has to be political will which was missing with the implementation of the progressive and promising UN Platform of Action in Beijing 2015. The balance sheet of 20 years Beijing is disappointing. Despite progress essentially brought forward by courageous women organisations and especially in legal reforms and equality institutions there is much do be done to guarantee women equal access to resources men have or equal participation in political, economic and societal life like men have. Gender equality is and remains a human rights and a power relation issue.
• Progress has occurred not because of the benevolence of governments, but because feminist organizations and women human rights defenders have fought for it, every step of the way. The attempt of governments to marginalize the role of these groups is an affront to women, everywhere
• An enabling environment and resources are necessary to allow women’s organizations, feminist organizations and women human rights defenders to be able to do their work free from violence.
• The emerging challenges have to be addressed that are setting back our fight for equality and the realization of the human rights of all women and girls. These include increasing fundamentalisms, violent extremism, increased number of displaced persons, increasing inequalities within and between countries, and climate change and ocean acidification, among others.

The evidence is clear: women and girls suffer the disproportionate impact of these challenges and without real commitment to address them, gender equality and the full realization of the human rights of women and girls is a pipe dream. It is necessary

• To ensure real accountability for governments including detailed measures to reform and strengthen public institutions to address the structural causes of gender inequality;
• ensuring an enabling economic environment for women’s rights and gender equality beyond sector specific financing and genderresponsive budgeting;
• creating national, regional and international systems that hold State and non-State actors, including multilateral institutions, to account for their role in perpetuating gender inequality and violations of the human rights of women and girls; and
• affirming the principle of international solidarity as the basis for international partnership between States for just, sustainable and equitable development.
• To affirm the strong linkages between Beijing, Post-2015 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Realizing gender equality, empowerment and the human rights of women and girls will be critical for the success of the post 2015 development agenda.

The Political Declaration (CSW) states unequivocal support for the stand-alone gender equality goal and targets as defined by the Open Working Group and recognizes the centrality of gender equality, empowerment and human rights of women and girls for sustainable development and commits to gender-sensitive targets and indicators
While the millennium development goals concentrated on the social and educational and health situation of women, the negotiations about the post-2015-agenda concentrate on gender equality and gender empowerment as a stand-alone goal as well as cross-cutting issue which have to be respected and mainstreamed in all sectors. Civil society world-wide as well as the women’s major group and VENRO rightly lobby for the goal number five within the 17 targets of the Open Working Group document. The commission on the status of women supports in its agreed conclusion of the 59th session in March 2015 gender equality and the empowerment of women as a stand-alone goal and calls for the implementation of the Beijing platform of action and the 12 strands of action from 1995.
It is disappointing that the UN Secretary General`s synthesis report lacks ambition and a strategy for the transformative and action- oriented agenda needed to achieve a gender-equality and human rights-based sustainable development for all. Structural transformations are necessary to ensure the success of the post-2015-agenda as a universal development agenda, which calls for an economic, ecological and social sustainable development. Let us recall the definition of the Brundtland-report defining sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
The report unfortunately neglects the critical importance of gender justice and downplays the critical importance of gender equality as a women’s and girl’s human right. The 17 goals have to be respected, implemented and monitored and gender mainstreamed. The reduction of the worldwide challenges to six essential elements people, planet, partnership, justice, prosperity and dignity downplays the critical importance of gender equality and women’s rights for the framing and implementation of the agenda.
If this century is to be the century of women, then the post-2015-agenda has to take into account the full potential of humanity. This will not be possible if half of humanity continues to be held back. Inclusion as a target is not enough because inclusion is not transformational. Therefore, we have to call on our governments to fix gender equality as a stand-alone goal in order to reduce structural barriers to gender equality.
The G7 summit 2015 has to do everything that women not only hold up half of heaven, but women should also get half of planet Earth. The challenge is a break-through with the political and economic empowerment of women. Empowerment is the power to act and requires extensive initiatives that support women and girls. VENRO expects from the G7 and the German presidency especially the following:
1. Enable good work
The creation of sufficient, fairly paid employment and working relationships with adequate social security for women in the formal as well as in the informal sector has to be a concern of the G7 that should be realized world-wide. Human rights and labour standards have to be implemented in the process. The social security of women and girls throughout their entire life cycle has to be improved. Vocational education and training can contribute to the improvement of women’s chances in the labour market. However, the importance of a good basic and secondary education for women and girls as a basic vocational education and training must not be ignored. Additionally, more must be invested in teaching women to read and write, as two thirds of all illiterate people worldwide are still women and girls. Women and girls also need access to academic and technical occupation in order to overcome the existing gender disparity in these fields.

2. Combatting violence against girls and women
Violence against girls and women is a human rights violation that affects 35 percent of all girls and women worldwide. For those affected, it constitutes first a danger to life and limb resulting in death or life-long injuries and traumas. Violence against women generates not only suffering but also high costs – not only for the affected women themselves but also for the economy and the companies, e.g. due to the absence of affected women from their workplace. Therefore the reduction of economic inequality of women and girls also requires combatting violence against them. The G7 countries have to make combatting violence against girls and women a priority in their development cooperation. This includes the financial support of women’s organisations that campaign for the rights of girls and women and their protection from violence. It also includes consistent implementation of existing statutory provisions, including corresponding criminal prosecutions. In many cases this also means qualifying the responsible bodies responsible for criminal proceedings, including victim protection.

3. Sexual and reproductive health and rights
Expected is a commitment by the G7 to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as well as by 2030 ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services.

4. Financing for development and gender
All decisions on financing for development have to respect the gender perspective. Gender budgeting has to be introduced in all UN member countries. Thus highlighting equality orientation on budgetary matters.

At the same time financing on development by private investment needs to predicate private sector involvement on social/environmental and equality accountability. The elevated role of the private sector endangers small farmers and especially women. It also endangers land property rights by land grabbing and violence and may also further strengthen the detriment the women’s equality, the principle of international solidarity and a global partnership for development and rights if not accompanied by strict rules respecting decent work, social responsibility of the company and infrastructure investment facilitating the access to markets for women.

Finally the importance of adequate sustained and unconditional financing and support for women’s organisations, movements and women human rights defenders has to be emphasized. karte Online

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