This weekend saw the first G7 ministerial meeting under the French presidency. Setting the tone for the French presidency's ambition to truly implement feminist diplomacy, it was eagerly awaited by the NGOs and feminist associations of Women 7, which will represent civil society at the G7. However, it failed to produce any concrete commitments. Women 7 regrets this, even though we welcome the importance given to the rights of women and girls.
At the foreign ministers' meeting, the G7 countries committed to adopting a roadmap to support and respond to the needs of survivors and victims of sexual violence in conflicts and also declared their support for the fund created by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad. The G7 countries also committed to strengthening their actions to support women's participation in peace processes.
“Women 7 welcomes these statements, which demonstrate the priority given to women’s and girls’ rights within the G7. This issue must be a common thread running through the foreign policy of G7 countries and must be translated into more concrete action. It is essential that all these countries commit to renewing their Women, Peace and Security action plans and to providing funding to support them. All initiatives led by France, such as the Sahel Alliance, must no longer ignore these fundamental issues."
says Rana Hamra, President of the NGO Humanity Diaspo
“Commitments in principle are no longer enough to combat inequality of opportunity and gender inequality around the world. We expect concrete and financial commitments on women’s and girls’ rights from the upcoming ministerial meetings and the Biarritz Summit.”
warns Sophie Chassot, advocacy officer at the NGO CARE France.
Women 7, as a G7 engagement group, reminds the French presidency that the expertise and legitimacy of civil society organizations are fundamental levers for building public policies that effectively combat inequality. As such, feminist associations and organizations must be more systematically included in decision-making bodies to ensure that G7 countries are ambitious and truly implement feminist policies and diplomacy.
The Women 7 (W7) engagement group brings together civil society organizations from G7 countries and developing countries working on women's and girls' rights. Its mission is to ensure that concrete commitments to gender equality are made throughout the G7 process.
Further information
- Read the full text of “The Dinard Declaration on Women, Peace, and Security”
- Women 7 produced recommendations on this ministerial meeting on foreign affairs and forwarded them to the French government and all G7 countries.
