Following their meeting on May 9 and 10, the G7 Ministers for Gender Equality adopted a declaration in support of women's and girls' rights. The ministers committed to adopting the Biarritz Partnership, which compiles some of the most progressive laws for women's rights around the world. For the feminist NGOs of Women 7 (W7), while this is good news, this commitment is still far from sufficient! Women 7 expects more ambitious actions at the Leaders' Summit in Biarritz.
While the statement adopted by the ministers recognizes the importance of dialogue between the G7 and feminist associations, the text conspicuously fails to acknowledge sexual and reproductive rights. This reflects a continuing decline in certain countries' commitment to women's rights over their own bodies.
The G7 countries have also committed to adopting the Biarritz Partnership. Women 7 welcomes this initiative and counts on the G7 countries to incorporate these laws into their national legislation, to repeal discriminatory laws, and to raise the standard of laws toward greater equality in all countries.
However, W7 calls on the G7 countries not to settle for mere declarations of principle on this issue! For these new laws to have an impact on the rights of women and girls, it is imperative to establish an action plan with clear deadlines, allocate funding, and establish shared accountability mechanisms to ensure that these laws are actually enforced. In this regard, the Women 7 regrets that the Biarritz Partnership is one of the only concrete commitments to come out of this ministerial meeting.
On May 9, 2019, at the Women 7 Summit, feminist organizations presented recommendations that were more ambitious than the commitments made. The Women 7 calls on ministers to increase funding for feminist organizations and to ensure the meaningful participation of all women and girls in all decisions made at the G7 and beyond.
For the moment, France has announced the creation of a €120 million fund to support feminist associations in the Global South. Women 7 calls on other G7 countries to follow France's lead by significantly increasing funding for feminist associations around the world. Furthermore, Women 7 calls on states to set an example by providing the same level of financial support to national organizations.
If France, as president of the G7, truly wants to make gender equality a major global cause, this ministerial meeting has not proven its worth. President Emmanuel Macron has one last chance to rectify the situation at the Leaders' Summit by announcing more concrete actions in favor of women's rights. The hundred or so feminist associations and organizations of Women 7 remain mobilized to ensure that France keeps its commitments to genuine feminist diplomacy! The countdown has begun.
