On the occasion of #CSW70, Equipop and the Walking the Talk* partners supported the event “The Road to Madrid: Powering Momentum for Feminist Foreign Policy, ” organized in collaboration with the Collective for Feminist Foreign Policy (the Collective) and FEMNET as members of the Global Network of Partners for Feminist Foreign Policy.
This meeting was intended to inform discussions leading up to the 5th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy and Gender Equality: Building Peace and Democracy, to be held in Madrid on June 2 and 3, 2026. The event brought together representatives from governments, feminist organizations, and civil society to discuss priorities for advancing feminist diplomacy in an international context marked by numerous tensions.
Several key points emerged from the discussions:
• The international context: Yasmine Janah (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Government of France) noted that in March 2025, France adopted a strategy that, for the first time, defined a feminist diplomacy approach. This initiative also coincides with key milestones on the international agenda, notably the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration.
• The role of states in promoting feminist diplomacy: Ana Paula Lavalle Arroyo (Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations) and Ana María Alonso Giganto (Ambassador for Feminist Foreign Policy, Government of Spain) emphasized the importance of strengthening international cooperation and civil society participation, in a context where democracies are under strain and where budgetary priorities are sometimes shifting from social justice to military spending.
In this context, the Spanish Government wishes to incorporate the priorities and financing initiatives it promoted as host country of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development last year into the preparations for the 5th Ministerial Conference, with the support of civil society.
• Funding and policy priorities: Jim Monkel (Hivos – Walking the Talk) and Carole Ageng’o (FEMNET) emphasized the need to place gender justice and intersectionality at the heart of public policy, while highlighting the central role of feminist organizations in the practical implementation of these agendas.
• Rethinking security: Carla Akil (Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship, American University of Beirut) emphasized the importance of shifting from a military security framework to a human security approach that addresses structural inequalities and strengthens the role of civil society in peace efforts.
The discussions also highlighted a major issue: the funding of feminist organizations, which remain on the front lines of humanitarian responses and peacebuilding efforts, yet receive only a very limited share of funding. A call was made for more flexible, long-term funding tailored to crisis and conflict contexts.
These discussions will help inform the deliberations leading up to the Madrid conference. On behalf of the Global Network of Partners for Feminist Foreign Policy, the Collective will compile the reflections and recommendations shared by participants and present them to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation, the conference organizer. Civil society organizations will work in the coming weeks to draft a joint statement outlining their recommendations and priorities. This coordinated advocacy effort will be essential to advancing shared demands and helping to shape the future political declaration, particularly regarding concrete political and financial commitments to gender equality and feminist foreign policies.
