Activities of Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA related to 2017/2012(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Gender equality and women's empowerment: transforming the lives of girls and women through EU external relations 2016-2020 (debate) ES
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the Joint Staff Working Document (SWD(2015)0182 - Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls and Women through EU External Relations 2016-2020 PDF (480 KB) DOC (88 KB)
Amendments (37)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas 2018 marks the seventieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the principle of equality forms the core of the human rights vision of the Charter, which states that human rights and fundamental freedoms should be available to all human beings 'without discrimination on the basis of race, sex, language or religion';
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has been signed by 195 countries, has the status of law and of binding nature and is an essential instrument to deal with the vulnerable situation and the need for special protection and care for girls;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas gender equality features among the common values on which the European Neighbourhood Policy is based, though clear objectives and specific action points on this matter are lacking; whereas the levels of political participation and representation of women in the EU’s neighbouring countries are low;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
— having regard to the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action from the 4th World Conference, and the outcomes of the review conferences;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- Having regard to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the outcomes of the review conferences;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
- having regard to United Nations Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security 1325 (2000);1820 (2009);1888 (2009);1889 (2010);1960 (2011);2106 (2013);2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015),
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16
Citation 16
— having regard to the European Implementation Assessment of the EU Gender Action Plan 2016-2020, published in October 20167 by the European Parliamentary Research Service,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
- Having regard to the COC Report on the implementation of the EU LGBTI Guidelines https://www.ilga- europe.org/sites/default/files/Attachments/ report_on_the_implementation_of_the_eu _lgbti_guidelines_2016.pdf
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the principle of equality between women and men is enshrined in the EU Treatygender equality is a core value of the EU and is enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and shall be promoted and integrated in all EU activities so as to deliver gender equality in practice;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the fifth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG5) is to achieve gender equality and to empower all women and girls worldwide and whereas SDG5 must be mainstreamed into the whole 2030 agenda to achieve progress across all Sustainable Development Goals and targets;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the empowerment of girls and women has been at the centre of EU external action through the Global Strategy for Common Foreign and Security Policy; welcomes the designation within the EEAS of a Principal Adviser on Gender and on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; highlights the centrality of women´s role in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post- conflict reconstruction; notes that promotion of women´s rights in crisis or conflict-ridden countries fosters stronger and more resilient communities; regrets and condemns sexual violence used against women and girls as a weapon of war;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the empowerment of girls and women has been at the centre of EU external action through the Global Strategy for Common Foreign and Security Policy; welcomes the designation within the EEAS of a Principal Adviser on Gender and on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; recalls that empowerment cannot be linked to labour market access only as progress needs to be made in many other fields such as political representation, legal protection, health and particularly through education;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the new Gender Action Plan II 2016-2020 came out of these recommendations with a focus on shifting EU institutional culture at headquarters and delegation levels to create a systemic change in how the EU approaches gender; and on transforming women's and girls' lives through four pivotal areas;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas reinstating and extending the Mexico City Policy or so-called Global Gag rule, cutting US global health assistance from organisations that provide girls and women with family planning and sexual and reproductive health services, is of serious concern;whereas programmes which address HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, Zika response efforts and other health and disease areas will be affected, including organisations that provide, counsel for, refer to or advocate for abortion services - even if they are doing so with their own, non-US funds and even if abortion is legal in their country;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. Whereas only a third of all EU delegations work on LGBTI human rights;whereas the EU's LGBTI Guidelines are being applied irregularly;whereas implementation of the guidelines depends strongly on the knowledge and interest of individual Ambassadors, instead of a structural approach;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the release in August 2017 of the first annual implementation report for the year 2016, which demonstrates a clear momentum towards the implementation of the GAP IIincreased attention to gender analyses and resourcing, efforts to ensure gender mainstreaming in development funding and important progress made by a number of EU delegations and Member States; regrets however that its publication was significantly delayed;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that one year on since the adoption of the GAP II, it is still early days, but the general direction of travel is welcome and a number of positive trends have been noted; but also challenges in reporting and implementation of key priorities and gender-related SDG's, and monitoring progress on all objectives, as well as in terms of mainstreaming gender into sector policy dialogue;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Draws attention to the European Commission’s commitment to mainstreaming and integrating gender analysis and perspectives across all instruments; calls on this approach to be reflected in all EU tools in particular in the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the fact that the Commission services and EEAS as well as 81% of EU delegations and 22 member states submitted gender reports for 2016; while there might be justified circumstances for delegations not reporting, the European Parliament expects to seeurges the Member States who have so far not reported, to step up efforts and calls for continued progress year on year towards all reports by EU delegations and member states being submitted;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Positively notWelcomes the practical steps towards cultureal change: placing the overall responsibility for reporting on the GAP lying with the head of delegation, an increased number of high level staff involved in the implementation of the GAP II and the appointment of an increasing number of gender champions and gender focal points in EU delegations, although still only half of the EUDs have a gender focal point; calls for more management level time to be dedicated to gender issues and for the remaining delegations who haven't so far done so, to appoint their gender focal points. A; stresses that all gender focal points should be given sufficient time and capacity to carry out their tasks;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Notes that it is unclear how targeted (G2) and mainstreamed actions (G1) complement each other;calls for further efforts to clarify gender mainstreaming and to increase targeted actions with more significant financial envelops;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Strongly regrets that, as per the European Parliament's study assessment on the implementation of the GAP II, current programming appears to side-line the gender dimension in situations of crisis or difficult conflicts;and that, among other outcomes, this has meant that girls and women victims of war rape do not have access to non-discriminatory care, specifically comprehensive medical care, including abortion, despite the GAP II aiming to empower women to have control over their sexual and reproductive life;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Welcomes the evidence in the report for the need for stronger support for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as a pre-condition for gender equality and the necessity for appropriate tools to measure progress with regards to ensure universal access to SRHR as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the ICPD and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences as per the Sustainable Development Goal 5.6;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and EEAS to take further steps to facilitate exchange of best practice in gender mainstreamingimproving gender equality between delegations and units such as establishing and promoting a network of gender focal points and sharing more positive examples of successful practice, and to ensure that the gender analyses effectively impact the programmes implemented by the EUDs;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Strongly condemns the reinstatement and expansion of the Mexico City Policy (so-called Global Gag Rule) by the United States in January 2017 and its impact on women's and girls' global health care and rights;Reiterates its call on the EU and Member States to proactively support women's rights worldwide and to reduce the financing gap left by the United States in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and particularly access to safe, affordable and legal abortion, without discrimination, using both national and EU development funding;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Calls on the Commission to systematically implement the GAP II, including in humanitarian settings where it must provide non-discriminatory access to medical services, in line with international humanitarian law;calls once again on the Commission to actively inform its humanitarian partners that the Commission's policy foresees that, in cases where the pregnancy threatens a woman’s or a girl’s life or causes unbearable suffering, international humanitarian law and/or international human rights law may justify offering a safe abortion rather than perpetuating what amounts to inhumane treatment;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls for increased funding of the Gender Resource Package to realise the ambitious goals of the GAP II;urges the Commission to use the mid term review of its international cooperation programmes to increase funding for streamlining gender into bilateral cooperation and through thematic programmes;welcomes in this regard the launch of the joint EU- UN global "Spotlight Initiative", in line with the objectives of the GAP, to eliminate all forms of gender-based violence and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, early forced marriage, or human trafficking;stresses that recognising and enforcing SRHR are preconditions to end gender-based violence and calls for the Spotlight Initiative to be resourced with additional funds not already earmarked to gender equality;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that the success of the GAP II will ultimately depend on long term and consistent engagement of high level political and senior leadership across all EU actors; welcomes in this regard the positive engagement from the Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development and encourages more commitment from other Commissioners; notes the special at mores ponsibility oflitical leadership rom the High Representative and managers is needed to increase resources and accountability and to coordinate and strengthen this engagement in the coming years;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Calls on the EEAS to improve the implementation of the EU LGBTI Guidelines and to ensure that EUDs consult regularly with LGBTI organisations and inform them on what is being done on LGBTI rights, to ensure that the level of engagement and the actions taken depend on the needs of the LGBTI community in a country, not on the personal commitment of Delegation staff and to coordinate strategy and action not only with National Embassies of EU Member States, but also with Embassies of third countries and with international organisations such as the UN;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the flexibility the GAP II gives delegations to choose priorities according to their country context; recommendstresses nonetheless that delegations should be encouraged to have shownmust report progress on at least one priority per thematic pillar, as required by GAP II, by the end of the GAP II to ensure a more even coverage of the different thematic areas;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Underlines the importance of conducting systematic gender analysis, using sexgender -disaggregated data, in consultation with theand participation of local CSOs and women’s groups, human rights’ organisations and local and regional authorities for the selection and assessment of the choice of objectives, the means of implementation and available sources, and the efficacy and sustainability of the outcomes; welcomes that 42 country gender analyses have been completed and encourages rapid completion for all other countries; encourages the EU to explore possibilities for sharing and manag, managing and updating gender analysis in a more systematic manner to help improve coordination;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recalls that women’s rights are human rights and encourages further work to be undertaken with regards to addressing social norms and gender stereotypes in societies through greater cooperation with civil society, grass roots organisations advocating women’s rights, creating new or developing existing networks, and involvement of the private sector, if possible; notes that girls and women are agents of change and that inclusion of boys and men is necessary to ensure real equality between women and men; stresses that social norms with regards to women’s and men’s roles place women in a situation of greater vulnerability, particularly in relation to their sexual and reproductive health, and leading to harmful practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or child, early and forced marriages;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Strongly regrets that indicators related to family planning or reproductive health are neglected both in terms of funding and programmes, and is concerned that according to the report no EUDs in the Middle East and North Africa and the Europe and Central Asia regions choose any SRHR-related indicator, given the important needs regarding SRHR in these regions;calls on the EU delegations in these regions tore- evaluate whether this is linked to reporting issues or if there is a need to complement current programmes with targeted actions on SRHR, taking advantage of the mid term review of the programming;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Stresses the need of budgetary allocations for child marriage prevention programmes that aim to create an environment where girls can achieve their full potential, including by means of education, social and economic programmes for out-of-school girls, child protection schemes, girls’ and women’s shelters, legal counselling, and psychological support;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Stresses the importance of increasing involvement, by regular dialogue and coordination, of Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders such as human rights, health, or environmental actors with EUD's, as such cooperation will contribute to improving the visibility and implementation of the GAPII, thereby increasing public accountability to progress on gender equality;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17 c. Is concerned that insufficient attention is being given to the protection of women’s rights defenders and women's rights organisations, considering that they are currently under huge pressure due to the shrinking civic space in many regions;is equally concerned that the thematic priority on political and civil rights, specifically the participation of women and girls in political and civil rights, has been given little priority in GAP II implementation;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Underlines that the dedicated chapter on SRHR should be maintained in the annual report to ensure that SRHR progress is appropriately and systematically documented by the methodological approach of the report;