The EU should take the lead in countering the global backlash on women’s rights

Need to combat all forms of gender-based violence, online and offline, and strengthen accountability and justice

Promote female participation and representation in the judiciary

Defend the mandate of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and ensure funding for UN Women

Ahead of the annual UN gathering on women’s rights, MEPs urge robust EU action to combat gender-based violence and defend gender equality worldwide.

In a report ahead of the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Parliament urges the Council to:

Reaffirm the EU’s commitment to gender equality by fully implementing women’s and girls’ rights across all EU external policies, including trade, development and foreign policy using an adequately funded, inclusive, intersectional, and non-discriminatory approach.

Reaffirm gender equality as an EU priority, support diversity, equality and inclusion, take the lead in the global fight against the backlash against gender equality and strongly condemn anti-rights movements attacking democracy and women’s and LGBTIQ+ rights.

Defend the CSW’s mandate from political pressure combined with funding cuts to gender-equality programmes, increase EU aid to compensate for USAID cuts, and ensure sustained funding for UN Women and gender equality, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

Reaffirm the EU’s commitment to end impunity for gender-based violence, including domestic and sexual violence, trafficking and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

Tackle violence offline and online – including the non-consensual sharing of images, deepfakes, cyber-harassment and hate crimes – and push for stronger EU and global action against AI-generated online abuse material that disproportionately affects women.

Promote women’s leadership, participation and representation in the judiciary, including the access of women from minority and marginalised groups to legal profession to foster an equitable and representative judiciary.

Advocate for a consent-based definition of rape as a universal standard worldwide.

Strongly condemn rape and sexual violence as weapons of war and call for international prosecution and accountability.

Urge all countries to ratify the Istanbul Convention and promote its standards to combat violence against women and domestic violence globally.

Call for recognising gender apartheid as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute, using the UN definition of an institutionalised system of gender-based discrimination and domination, to ensure justice, accountability, and international prosecution.

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) adopted the draft recommendation on Tuesday with 34 votes in favour, 23 against, and 10 abstentions.

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After the vote, rapporteur and Committee Chair Lina Gálvez (S&D, Spain) said: “Globally, access to justice for women continues to be constrained by structural inequalities, including limited representation in senior judicial and prosecutorial roles and the persistence of gender stereotypes affecting cases of violence.”

Next steps

The draft recommendation will be up for debate and vote during the 9-12 February plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Background

The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the rights and empowerment of women. Its seventieth session will take place in New York 9–19 March 2026 and focus on a priority theme entitled ‘Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers’ and its review theme entitled ‘Women’s full and effective participation and decision making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’.