High Level Launch EU Gender Action Plan III (GAP III)
On Wednesday 25 November 2020, the high-level launch of the new Gender Action Plan (GAP) took place. The GAP III plans that by 2025, 85% of all external actions contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The NHC fully supports the GAP III aim to promote a transformative approach and to mainstream a gender perspective in all policies and actions.
On behalf of the NHC, the Access to Justice Programme, together with EPD, DEMO Finland, DIPD, NIMD, PIN and WFD, were involved in the consultations for GAP III. The NHC’s focus was on ending gender-based violence and harassment (read the full consultation paper here).
The NHC’s Access to Justice Programme focuses on protecting the rights of vulnerable groups in justice systems, including victims of gender-based violence. In ensuring access to justice to vulnerable groups, a gender-sensitive approach is important. The NHC puts great importance to gender equality and countering discrimination throughout its work, for instance through our work on countering discrimination and hate crime against the LGBTIQ community, and through the promotion of an integrated, holistic and empowering approach in the protection of human trafficking victims.
About The Gender Action Plan (GAP) III
The GAP III aims to accelerate progress on empowering women and girls, and safeguard gains made on gender equality during the 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action.
With this new GAP, we are pushing for more and faster progress towards gender equality – Josep Borrell
The GAP III provides the EU with five pillars of action [link to GAP III doc]:
- 85% of all new actions throughout external relations will contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment by 2025
- Shared strategic vision and close cooperation with Member States and partners at multilateral, regional and country level
- The GAP III calls for accelerating progress, focusing on the key thematic areas of engagement
- Leading by example
- Measuring results
With the five pillars of action, the GAP III will:
- Promote a transformative approach and will mainstream a gender perspective in all policies and actions
- Encourage change in social attitudes, including by actively engaging men and boys and by putting a focus on young people as drivers of change
- Address all intersecting dimensions of discrimination. Women with disabilities are particularly disadvantaged and the rights of women with disabilities should be at the core of the future strategy on rights of persons with disabilities for the coming years (2021-2030). In the same spirit, advancing the rights of LGBTIQ. All intersecting dimensions are equally relevant
- Set the ground for a more active role of women in peace and security. The EU has been in the front-line helping women’s participation in the political and decision-making processes of countries in conflict, like in Syria, Libya, Colombia, Afghanistan or Yemen.
About the NHC
The Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC) is a non-governmental organization that operates within the OSCE-area. It contributes to dialogue and cooperation between states and civil society in the area of rule of law and human rights. Founded in 1987, the NHC represented Dutch civil society in the Helsinki Process, following the examples of sister Helsinki Committees from across the OSCE area. NHC’s current activities include human rights defence, integrity and accountability, access to justice and criminal justice reform.
