WUNRN
2012 Report on the Implementation of EU Plan of Action on Gender Equality
and Women's Empowerment in Development 2010-2015
Link to Full 45-Page European Commission 2012 Report: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/development-policies/intervention-areas/humandev/documents/final_gap_2012_en.pdf
Includes - Annex 1: Table of received reports from MEMBER STATES and EU
Delegations
Achievements:
The numbers of EU Delegations and Member States which participate in
gender coordination mechanisms have increased and there are also more internal
EU coordination groups specifically dealing with the GAP
Political dialogue on gender equality with partner countries takes place
in many more countries (61) than reported last year (38) and it is also on the
agenda in sector and macro policy dialogues in an increasing number of
countries (from 32 to 48)
Gender equality is gradually being included in sector programmes beyond
the traditional health and education sectors (private sector development,
infrastructure, food security, climate change) both by Member States and EU
Delegations
Some progress can also be registered concerning availability of
sex-aggregated indicators and use of them in different aid modalities,
including in general budget support
28 EU Delegations have started to prepare Gender country profiles – a new
tool which aims to facilitate integration of gender equality and women's
empowerment (GEWE) in sector programmes and projects
All the reporting EU Delegations in countries eligible for funding under
the European Development Fund (EDF) intend to include gender equality in the
programming objectives for 2014-2020
Altogether, EU Delegations seem to be geared towards a more comprehensive
implementation of the mandatory requirement to mainstream gender equality in
all development activities in the next programming period 2014-2020
Practically all Member States this year report that gender equality and
women's empowerment (GEWE) is mainstreamed in projects implemented by non state
actors
All Member States now comply with the target concerning reporting on the
OECD DAC Gender Marker which ensures that bilateral aid is screened for its
gender equality focus
Cooperation with UN Women has been further strengthened through the
signing in 2012 of the Memorandum of Understanding between the EU and UN Women
as well as through partnership agreements between some Member States and UN
Women. The EU also increased its financial support by almost 80% from 2010 to
2011 and remains the chief contributor to UN Women
Continued strong engagement on the women, peace and security agenda is
also evident from the reporting on actions to strengthen implementation of the
UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 and 1820, including to some extent
for capacity building in partner countries. Combating violence against women also
remains a high priority both for Member States, the Commission and the EEAS
with and increase in a activities moving beyond advocacy and statements to
specific actions in the field
Challenges:
In spite of the numerous tools, mechanisms and procedures to ensure that
GEWE is addressed in all development cooperation activities, the statistics of
the OECD DAC indicate that further efforts are needed to ensure that women
benefit equally from EU aid: less than 20% of Austria's, Italy's, Netherland's,
Portugal's and the EU/European Development Fund's bilateral aid had GEWE as a
principal or significant objective in 2010 and only 6 Member States were above
50% (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden). Inconsistent
reporting may to some extent explain these outcomes and needs to be corrected.
Even so, the Commission and most Member States need to redouble their efforts
if the objective of at least 75% of new proposals for GEWE is to be reached by
2013 (see indicator 4.4)
At EU level, the coordination between foreign policy and development
policies and implementation still needs to be improved, particularly in EU
Delegations, to fulfil the political commitments in the GAP (political dialogue
on gender with developing countries and reporting by Heads of Mission on these
dialogues)
Insufficient technical capacities and knowledge to act as informed
interlocutors with partner countries impede progress in terms of advancing the
GEWE agenda at country level. More and better training, both of gender focal
persons and sector specialists, remains a priority all the more so in view of
the increasing number of short-term contractual staff dealing with this agenda
in EU Delegations.