26 Amendments of Elena KOUNTOURA related to 2019/2167(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the Joint Declaration on Trade and Womens Economic Empowerment on the Occasion of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires of December 2017,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
- having regard to Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and to Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 c (new)
Citation 6 c (new)
- having regard to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) and the Protocols thereto, and in particular the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000),
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the principle of equality between women and men is a core value of the EU enshrined within the European Union legal and political framework, and gender mainstreaming should therefore be implemented and integrated into all EU activities and policies; whereas the EU should contribute to creating a world in which all people, regardless of gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and ability can live peacefully, enjoying equal rights and the same opportunity to realise their potential;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas women and girls are particularly affected by violence, poverty, armed conflicts and the impact of the climate emergencyand public health emergencies and other emergency situations; whereas there is a growing global trend towards authoritarianism and an increasing number of fundamentalist groups, both of which are clearly linked to a backlash against women’s and LGBTIQ+ rights; whereas any understanding of security that focuses on States rather than human beings is defective and will not lead to peace;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Denmark, Switzerland and Norway have a strong gender equality- focused foreign policy; whereas Spain, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Germany have announced their intention to make gender equality a priority of their foreign policy; whereas the new Commission has announced its intention to madke gender equality one of its key priorities across all policy areas;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas violent conflicts and war have a disproportionate impact on civilians, particularly women and children, and put women at greater risk of economic and sexual exploitation, forced labour, displacement, detention and sexual violence such as rape; whereas women protection and active participation in the peace process is important for conflict prevention and peacebuilding as well as in the prevention of all forms of violence, including sexual and gender- based violence; whereas even though women play such a decisive role for lasting peace, they made up only 13% of negotiators in major peace processes from 1992-2018, only 4% of signatories and only 3% of mediators;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas trafficking in persons constitutes a gendered crime, as it disproportionately affects women and girls, who are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation; whereas according UNODC women and girls represent more than two thirds of the total number of detected victims of trafficking in human beings and three out of four of these women and girls are sexually exploited; whereas in 2018 the smallest number of reported actions under GAP II were related to combatting the trafficking of women and girls for all forms of exploitation; whereas this was the only objective on which the number of reported actions decreased compared to 2017; whereas there is a lack of adequate legislation to criminalise and effectively combat trafficking in human beings in many countries worldwide; whereas the gender dimension of trafficking must be taken into account in conflict and post-conflict settings, given that it affects males and females differently;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas GAP II constituted an important step forward in fostering gender equality in the EU’s external relations, but its implementation still displays a number of shortcomings such as a weak legal basis, a narrow scope, the absence of gender-responsive budgeting, challenges to accurate reporting and qualitative data, the absence of timeframe alignment between programming and budget cycles, a lack of commitment on the part of the EU’s leaders, and a lack of institutional architecture, adequate training and incentives to motivate and adequately support staff;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas progress has been made in the realisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across the world, but important shortcomings continue to exist and threats of regression persist; whereas a worrying backlash against women’s and LGBTIQ+ rights is observed throughout the world limiting sexual and reproductive health and rights, and banning sexuality education and gender studies; whereas in 2018 the number of EU actions on SRHR decreased and the lowest number of global actions by Commission services on gender equality pertained to SRHR;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the work of gender advisers and focal points is central to translating EU policies on gender equality and WPS into analysis, planning, conduct and evaluation, as well as to facilitating the integration of a gender perspective into daily tasks and operations; whereas gender advisers and focal points face numerous challenges in the performance of their duties; whereas further action is needed to ensure that the job description of gender focal persons and key management staff members includes gender mainstreaming and promoting gender equality among their tasks;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the current global context of the rise of authoritarianism, of corporate power and of fundamentalist groups is contributing towards shrinking civil society space; whereas women human rights defenders face additional barriers of economic and structural discrimination and unique challenges driven by deep-rooted discrimination against women and stereotypes entrenched in patriarchal societies related to gender and sexuality; whereas women’s organisations and human rights defenders working on rights contested by authoritarian regimes and fundamentalist groups such as SRHR and denouncing the actions of extractive industries and businesses remain at heightened risk to attacks and violence; whereas consistent engagement with women’s organisations and human rights defenders needs to be ensured throughout the full cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the GAP III with regard to addressing social and cultural norms and gender stereotypes in societies and to promoting women’s rights and empowerment;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas trade policy shall be conducted in the context of the principles and objectives of the EU external action, including democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the UN Charter and international law; whereas, until now, the EU has concluded trade and Association agreements without undertaking assessments of their impact on women and gender equality; whereas a modernised Association Agreement between Chile and the EU will include, for the first time for the EU, a specific chapter on gender and trade; whereas gender issues and women rights are not sufficiently taken into account in the sustainable impact assessments of trade and Association agreements; whereas an ex-ante assessment of the gender implications of trade policies can contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment; whereas it is necessary to ensure that the possible impacts of EU trade policy and agreements on gender equality and women’s rights are always evaluated;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the EU and its Member States to commit to advancing towards a foreign and security policy that incorporates a gender-transformative vision, putting the need to address unequal structures and power relations at its centre; stresses the need for such policy to be grounded in rigorous gender analysis and systematic, as a core part of context analysis for the identification, formulation, implementation and monitoring of all actions, in all sectors, at headquarters, in EU Delegations and within Common Security and Defence Policy missions and operations, and in systematic ex-ante and ex-post gender impact assessments, and for a meaningful and equitable role at all levels and stages of decision-making to be secured for women and for people from diverse backgrounds;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to carry out a review and present a new EU Gender Action Plan III in 2020; stresses that the GAP III should build upon and expand on the path laid out in the current GAP II and take into consideration lessons learned from its current implementation; stresses that this document needs to take the form of an official communication, rather than a staff working document, in order to ensure its effective implementation; welcomes the EU Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and calls for its robust implementation; welcomes the decision to renew the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, and calls for gender mainstreaming and targeted actions for gender equality and women’s rights, including SRHR, to be included in the Action Plan;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the EEAS, the relevant Commission services and the Member States to systematically integrate gender mainstreaming and an intersectional perspective into the EU’s foreign and security policy, including trade and development policy;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recommends that GAP III be accompanied by clear, measurable, time- bound indicators of success to monitor short-term, mid-term and long-term changes, including an attribution of responsibility to different actors, and with clear objectives in each partner country, developed in close cooperation with the partner country and civil society organisations (CSOs), including those that work to involve men and boys in promoting gender equality;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls for gender-specific indicators to be applied in the project selection, monitoring and evaluation phases of all actions of EU’s foreign and security policy that receive funding from the EU budget; calls for the introducing in the forthcoming Common Implementing Regulation laying down common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union’s instruments for financing external action, basic requirements towards furthering gender equality through all external financial instruments; calls for mandatory gender impact assessment as part of general ex- ante conditionality, and for the collection of gender-disaggregated data on beneficiaries and participants; stresses the need for a systematic gender budgeting approach, combined with an appropriate and uniform system of tracking, monitoring and evaluating EU expenditures related to gender equality across EU’s foreign and security policy; calls on the Commission to systematically assess the impact of the Programmes financed by EU budget and to report back to the European Parliament;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for specific earmarked funding on gender equality in the framework of the proposed Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) regulation, and for reduced administrative constraints to allow access to funding for local and small CSOs; stresses the importance of ensuring that partners can count on receiving sufficient political support and financial resources for gender mainstreaming;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States to create a formal Council working group on gender equality; encourages the setting up of a new formal Council configuration bringing together EU ministers and secretaries of State responsible for gender equality;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the VP/HR to ensure that Heads of EU Delegations abroad have a formal responsibility to ensure gender equality is mainstreamed throughout all aspects of the delegation’s work and that they be required to report on it; further calls on the VP/HR to ensure that there is one full-time gender focal point in the EU delegations; stresses that all gender focal points should be given sufficient time and capacity to carry out their tasks; emphasises the need for training in order to ensure that gender focal persons can develop the skills required to fulfil their assigned tasks; underlines the need to update job descriptions and contracts in order to include relevant responsibilities related to furthering gender equality within positions at all levels;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Stresses the need to implement a gender perspective within the EU migration policy that guarantees the rights of women and girl asylum seekers and refugees, to immediately introduce gender sensitive asylum and migration procedures and to step up work in order to ensure proper identification and protection against potential violence, harassment, rapes and women trafficking at reception centres across Europe;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure that due consideration is given to gender equality when negotiating new or reviewing existing Trade and Association Agreements; calls on the Commission and the Council to promote and support the inclusion of a specific gender chapter in EU trade and Association Agreements and to ensure that it specifically foresees binding commitments to respect and promote gender equality and women empowerment; calls for the promotion of principles of internationally recognised standards, international Agreements and UN Conventions and commitments on girls and women rights, gender equality, gender mainstreaming and the empowerment of women in these agreements, based on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the SDGs, the CEDAW and the fundamental ILO Conventions; calls on the Commission to include gender impact of EU trade policy and agreements in ex- ante and ex-post impact assessments and to ensure that trade agreements do not exacerbate existing inequalities or create new ones;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Calls on the VP/HR, the EEAS and the Member States to safeguard the rights of girls and women and ensure their full and meaningful participation across the various stages of the conflict cycle, in the context of EU conflict prevention and mediation activities; calls for the mainstreaming of gender perspective through the inclusion of expertise on gender, including gender- based violence and conflict-related sexual violence, at all levels of peacekeeping as well as through the substantial increase in the number of women in other key positions at all levels of conflict prevention and peacekeeping operations;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Calls on the Commission and Member States to enhance cooperation with third countries in order to combat all forms of trafficking in human beings, paying particular attention to the gender dimension of trafficking in persons to specifically combat child marriage, the sexual exploitation of women and girls and sex tourism; calls for mandatory impact assessment on the risks posed by a third country with regard to human trafficking as part of general ex-ante conditionality of all visa liberalisation agreements; stresses the need of the introduction of effective cooperation with third countries in regard to human trafficking among the mandatory criteria to be met for any visa liberalisation agreement; calls on the Commission, the Council and the EEAS to introduce in their negotiations with third countries on association and cooperation agreements with third countries a benchmark framework of cooperation with regards to effectively counter-human trafficking, including a transparent protocol for recording data on referrals and prosecution of trafficking; calls for the establishment of a gender-sensitive approach to trafficking in persons, by comprehensively addressing the impact it has on the realization of a wide range of human rights, in the context of any conflict;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the EU Delegations to monitor the backlash against gender equality and SRHR and the tendency towards shrinking space for civil society, and to take specific steps to protect them from threats, harassment, violence and hate speech; urges the Commission, the EEAS, the Member States and Heads of EU Delegations to ensure political and financial support to local CSOs, including women’s organisations and human rights defenders, and to make cooperation and consultation with them a standard element of their work;