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DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATION

P10_TA(2026)0051

Recommendation to the Council concerning theon EU priorities for the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

(2025/2240(INI))

Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

PE776.895

European Parliament recommendation of 12 February 2026 to the Council concerning the EU priorities for the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (2025/2240(INI))

The European Parliament,

F. whereas universal and equal access to justice for women and girls remains a complex and critical issue across all regions of the world, and is especially challenging in some regions, particularly in those where democratic institutions and the rule of law are weak; whereas economic deterrence, limited access to legal aid, high costs, complex legal procedures, digital and linguistic barriers, distrust of judicial systems, prevalent gender stereotypes, racial biases, misogyny and systemic discrimination continue to hinder women and girls from effectively accessing justice;

✦ Wording Replaces the reference to parity as 50:50 representation with a broader phrasing on equal access and power.

G. whereas women remain seriously under-represented worldwide at the highest levels of the judiciary and prosecutorial authorities, particularly in leadership positions such as presidents of courts, chief justices and heads of prosecution offices; whereas achieving balanced gender representation in these decision-making bodies must be a priority; whereas a gender-sensitive approach must be continued, even when the presence of women has been ensured; whereas integrating a gender perspective into judicial decision-making is essential to securing equal access to justice for women and girls, and requires assessing facts and applying the law without gender bias and harmful stereotypes, both in the decision itself and in the process by which it is made; whereas in 2024 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued General recommendation No 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, stating parity as 50:50 representation between women and men in all their diversity, in terms of both equal access and equal power within such systems;

✦ Wording Drops the words 'mandatory' and 'all' before 'training' and 'professionals' respectively.

H. whereas the UN actively supports greater participation of women in the justice sector through dedicated initiatives and campaigns; whereas greater representation of women within judicial institutions is linked to more victim-centred approaches to justice and is essential to ensuring that victims feel supported and heard when they come forward and seek access to justice; whereas clear rules and strong legislative provisions, mandatory training on their application and awareness-raising initiatives on gender and justice – both for all professionals in the justice sector and for civil society – are necessary;

I. whereas violence against women, gender-based violence and domestic violence constitute violations of fundamental rights; whereas legal systems must fully address the specific needs of victims by providing adequate protection, effective legal remedies, accessible support services and adequate training to competent authorities that come into contact with victims of gender-based violence, in order to avoid secondary victimisation; whereas many women and girls continue to face substantial barriers to reporting abuse and obtaining legal assistance; whereas all forms of violence – including psychological, emotional and mental abuse, as well as coercive and financial control – must be formally recognised; whereas the persistence of gender stereotypes, misogyny and sexism within institutions, along with structural and procedural obstacles, continue to hinder women victims of violence when trying to access justice; whereas judicial specialisation in gender-based violence has proven effective as it concentrates expertise, improves case management and fosters a more gender-sensitive and victim-supportive environment;

J. whereas harassment in the workplace and in political, judicial, academic or online settings constitutes a barrier, preventing women from accessing justice and entering or remaining in public and decision-making roles; whereas pervasive online violence, hate speech and hate crime increasingly directed at women and girls have severe consequences for their daily lives, limit their participation in public life and undermine their equal representation;

✦ Changes 'may constitute' to 'constitutes' regarding sexual violence as a war crime, making the statement definitive.

K. whereas armed conflict, forced displacement, the consequences of climate change and humanitarian emergencies worsen inequalities and weaken protection systems, leaving women and girls at greater risk of gender-based violence, including forced marriage, sexual violence during transit, trafficking, gender-based violence in reception or asylum centres and sexual violence and torture used as weapons of war; whereas conflict-related sexual violence remains one of the most widespread human rights violations, used to terrorise civilian populations, suppress resistance and destroy communities, and may constituteconstitutes a war crime, a crime against humanity or acts contributing to genocide under international law; whereas the UN’s Women, Peace and Security agenda is central to addressing contemporary global peace and security challenges; whereas ongoing armed conflicts, as well as emerging and increasingly complex security threats, disproportionately affect women and girls and have led to a deterioration of their status, with detrimental consequences for the full enjoyment of their human rights globally;

L. whereas the Istanbul Convention is one of the most advanced international legal instruments establishing binding obligations to prevent and combat gender-based violence;

(c) reconfirm the EU’s commitment to gender equality as a horizontal priority; support and champion the values of diversity, equality and inclusion; emphasise the need to develop a comprehensive tool to monitor and counter democratic backsliding and backsliding in women’s rights, which are intrinsically linked; take the lead in the global fight against the backlash against gender equality, and strongly condemn the attacks by anti-gender and anti-rights movements, which spread lies, undermine democracy and target women’s and LGBTIQ+ rights;

✦ Replaces a call for monitoring frameworks with a call for complementary instruments and specific measures for persons with disabilities, and adds a new paragraph on supporting motherhood.

(d) call for the establishment of monitoring and accountability frameworks to track the implementation of UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) commitments across all Member States and UN partners;

(d) ensure that EU and international instruments are complementary and ambitious, with robust and substantive provisions to empower women and girls and guarantee access to justice; stress that the right to legal aid and legal advocacy is essential to guarantee universal and equal access to justice for all and effective participation in relevant proceedings; stress, furthermore, that persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls with disabilities, face structural and practical barriers to accessing justice and public participation; emphasise the need for specific measures to guarantee their full inclusion and universal access to effective protection; ensure that the EU demonstrates strong leadership and adopts a unified position on inclusive and unbiased justice systems; advocate for comprehensive legal frameworks that protect women’s rights and ensure the full and equal participation of women, girls and people in all their diversity under both national and international law; call for ensuring and promoting victims’ right to timely offender-paid compensation within criminal proceedings and for exchanging best practice to prevent secondary victimisation, including through state subrogation mechanisms;

(e) ensure that EU and international instruments are complementary and ambitious, with robust and substantive provisions to empower women and girls and guarantee access to justice; stress that the right to legal aid and legal advocacy is essential to guarantee universal and equal access to justice for all and effective participation in relevant proceedings; stress, furthermore, that persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls with disabilities, face structural and practical barriers to accessing justice and public participation; emphasise the need for specific measures to guarantee their full inclusion and universal access to effective protection; ensure that the EU demonstrates strong leadership and adopts a unified position on inclusive and unbiased justice systems and explore the possibility of implementing specific specialised courts for gender-based violence; advocate for comprehensive legal frameworks that protect women’s rights and ensure the full and equal participation of women, girls and people in all their diversity under both national and international law; call for ensuring and promoting victims’ right to timely offender-paid compensation within criminal proceedings and for exchanging best practice to prevent secondary victimisation, including through state subrogation mechanisms;

(e) take action to fully implement existing commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment, ensuring the protection of women’s equal human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination, to advance their participation in public life;

(f) take action to fully implement existing commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment, ensuring the protection of women’s equal human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination, to advance their participation in public life; encourage and take action to ensure substantive gender equality and institutional gender parity at all levels of decision-making;

(f) emphasise the importance of supporting public policies that promote and support motherhood;

✦ Drops a call for enhanced international cross-border mechanisms for victims of violence.

(g) emphasise the importance of guaranteeing women and girls effective access to justice at all levels, including clear reporting channels and the swift processing of protection and support measures; eliminate obstacles, particularly for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of women, who often face barriers in accessing justice, owing to the multiplying effect of limited and underfunded resources within the justice system, as well as socio-economic and socio-cultural factors and intersectional discrimination; ensure adequate, victim-centred support and protection services in cases of gender-based violence, and prevent any form of secondary victimisation when reports are made to the police or during court proceedings; call for enhanced international cross-border mechanisms to ensure that victims of violence – especially migrants, refugees and people in need of international protection – can access justice across different countries; highlight that economic inequality remains a significant obstacle to accessing justice;

(h) emphasise the need to recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute and advocate for its international recognition, in order to ensure access to justice, accountability and the possibility of prosecution by international courts; support the definition of the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls of gender apartheid as acts within an institutionalised system of gender-based discrimination and domination;

✦ Drops a call to strengthen or expand dedicated courts or procedures for gender-based violence.

(i) ensure the exchange of best practices, including through judicial training, regarding the psychological, mental, physical, coercive and financial impacts of gender-based violence; strengthen and expand dedicated courts, divisions or specialised procedures for gender-based violence or designate specialised judges within regular courts; commit to and encourage the integration of a gender perspective in judicial decision-making; encourage the possibility of providing female lawyers for victims upon request; promote gender-sensitive, victim-centred training for officials coming into contact with victims, in line with their functions, including police officers, prosecutors and judges, to prevent secondary victimisation, tackle gender stereotypes and biases, and ensure respectful, trauma-sensitive, non-discriminatory treatment of victims;

(j) stress the importance of ensuring that women and girls have accessible, comprehensive and coherent information about their rights, support and protection, through every step of the judicial process, especially in cases of violence against women or domestic violence, including through awareness-raising initiatives; emphasise the need to support grassroots legal empowerment programmes that help women and girls understand and exercise their rights and encourage the establishment of both general and specialist support services for victims of crimes, and ensure their effective coordination and methods of referral; emphasise the key role these services play in informing victims about their rights and facilitating their access to justice; ensure that the information provided to victims is easy to access and available in plain language; promote the existence and use of victim helplines and ensure that they are available through various channels, including telephone and information and communication technologies; recognise that limited access to information and communications technologies in many countries worldwide hampers the full realisation of the potential of women and girls;

✦ Wording Removes the word 'relevant' before 'policies'.

(k) commit to ensuring access to legal aid for victims from the outset of civil or criminal proceedings and promote this approach globally, together with international partners; call for the incorporation of a gender perspective into all relevant policies, laws, procedures, programmes and practices in order to address specific barriers faced by women and girls, including limited awareness of rights, discriminatory attitudes and gender stereotypes within justice systems, and the insufficient availability of specialised services, particularly in rural and remote areas; promote the practice of assessing women and girls’ right to legal aid solely based on their own financial means, independent of their husbands’, partners’ or families’ income, which is especially relevant for cases of gender-based violence; highlight the importance of gender-disaggregated data on access to justice, case outcomes, legal aid usage and barriers, in order to support evidence-based policymaking;

(l) advance women’s leadership, equal participation and increased representation of women within the judiciary and its governing bodies and take active steps towards promoting the broad access of women from minorities and marginalised groups to the legal profession, with a view to dismantling structural barriers within the justice system and to fostering an equitable and representative judiciary, thereby ensuring equal opportunities;

(n) actively support and promote the 2024 CEDAW General recommendation No 40 on equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, defined as 50:50 parity between women and men in all their diversity in terms of equal access to and equal power within decision-making systems;

✦ Wording Changes 'security' to 'defence' in the context of foreign and security policy.

(o) encourage meaningful participation of women at all levels of decision-making in foreign, security and securitydefence policy, as well as in conflict resolution, both in the EU and globally;

(p) take action to urgently and fully implement existing commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment, ensuring the protection of women’s equal human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination, including through strong public institutions and policies that guarantee equal opportunities, to advance their effective and full participation in public life, thus facilitating their engagement in decision-making processes; condemn online hate speech targeting women and its impact on their participation in public life, and support media literacy and digital safety programmes for women and girls;

(r) defend the mandate of the UN CSW in the light of efforts by the United States and aligned countries to weaken agreed gender-equality priorities, and express concern that such political pressure, combined with funding cuts to gender-equality programmes, risks undermining the effectiveness and credibility of the CSW; step up development aid funding to compensate for the gap left following the rollback of the US Agency for International Development; reaffirm its full support for the work of UN Women, which is a central actor in the UN system for advancing the rights of women in all their diversity and bringing together all relevant stakeholders to generate policy change and coordinate actions; urge all UN member states, together with the EU, to ensure adequate funding for UN Women; commit to adequate funding for gender equality and women’s rights, including SRHR;

✦ Wording Removes the word 'relevant' before 'EU policy areas'.

(s) apply gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting to all relevant EU policy areas, including external action; stress the need for states to allocate adequate, sufficient and predictable funding for gender-responsive legal aid and support services, especially for survivors of gender-based violence, and sufficient access to compensation, since current barriers disproportionately affect women’s access to justice; stress the importance of addressing practical, regional and accessibility-related barriers that hinder women’s and vulnerable groups’ access to justice, particularly in rural, remote and economically disadvantaged regions; underline the specific challenges faced by women with disabilities, elderly women and single parents, including physical accessibility obstacles and a lack of tailored support services; recognise that legal aid is often chronically underfunded or undervalued, creating yet another barrier for women in crisis situations seeking access to justice, which disproportionately affects women in lower socio-economic positions and those most vulnerable, in terms of accessing justice when their rights are infringed;

(t) reaffirm the EU’s commitment to combating and ending impunity for gender-based violence, including sexual violence; advocate for eliminating impunity for all forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking and harmful practices; accelerate the implementation of international commitments to further prevent and respond to all forms of violence against women and girls in both public and private spheres, including rape, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, so-called conversion practices, the non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, deepfakes and AI-generated content, cyberstalking, cyber-harassment, cyber-flashing, cyber incitement to violence or hatred, hate speech and hate crimes; stress the importance of addressing the threat posed by AI-manipulated technology and advocate, at EU and international level, for stronger action against online violence, both of which disproportionately affect women and hinder their full participation in public life; urge very large online platforms and very large online search engines to allow for public scrutiny of their annual risk assessments and mitigation measures related to gender-based violence to enable better research and solutions;

(u) emphasise that the lack of or the denial of access to SRHR, including safe and legal abortion, constitutes a form of gender-based violence and a violation of human and fundamental rights; call for efforts to ensure broad and equitable access to SRHR globally, and reaffirm that access to safe and legal abortion is a fundamental component of women’s SRHR and essential to their bodily autonomy; demand safe access to abortion, contraception and maternal care for everyone, particularly emergency contraception, testing for sexually transmitted infections and post-exposure prophylaxis; ensure access to gender-sensitive mental health services for young women and LGBTIQ+ people, acknowledging mental health as vital to participation and equality;

✦ Formal Fixes numbering from 'v)' to '(v)'.

v)(v) ensure that EU external policies actively promote access to SRHR as part of achieving the SDGs;

(w) reiterate that rape remains one of the most widespread human rights violations globally; stress the importance of adopting consent-based rape legislation as an essential element of a comprehensive approach to combating sexual violence against women and girls; advocate for a consent-based definition of rape as a universal standard worldwide, aimed at enhancing legal protections and ensuring that sexual violence is defined by the absence of consent, rather than solely by the use of violence, coercion or threat; promote the concept that the silence of, and absence of resistance by, the victims do not constitute consent; underline that neither prior consent nor an existing relationship imply ongoing or future consent for any sexual acts; call, in this regard, on all countries to introduce a consent-based definition of rape and to guarantee survivors access to justice;

✦ Changes 'may constitute' to 'constitute' and 'can constitute' to 'constitute' regarding war crimes, making statements definitive.

(x) condemn, in the strongest terms, the use of rape and other forms of sexual violence as a weapon of war and recall that such acts may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity under international law; actively work to ensure the prosecution of and accountability for these types of crimes at international level, including through the application of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime; strengthen support for international efforts to document these crimes in ongoing conflicts and for prevention measures; call, furthermore, for active support for all initiatives aimed at ensuring accountability for perpetrators and access to justice for survivors of rape as a weapon of war, recognising that in accordance with UN Security Council Regulation 1820 (2008), rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, or acts contributing to genocide; promote the close cooperation of Eurojust with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the documentation of wartime rape, abuse and other forms of sexual violence in Ukraine, and call for the EU, Eurojust and the ICC to further strengthen coordinated, trauma-informed and victim-centred documentation efforts, and create cooperation frameworks globally for other conflict zones, to ensure that victims are identified, protected and able to access justice;

(y) emphasise the importance of the full recognition of trans women as women, noting that their inclusion is essential for the effectiveness of any gender-equality and anti-violence policies; call for recognition of and equal access for trans women to protection and support services;

(z) call on all countries that have not yet ratified the Istanbul Convention to do so and to promote the global adoption of its comprehensive standards for combating violence against women and domestic violence;

✦ Drops a reaffirmation of the right to asylum for gender-based persecution and a call for recognition of gender apartheid as grounds for asylum.

(aa) reaffirm the right of women and girls subjected to acts of persecution owing to gender-based violence to seek asylum; call on governments and international bodies to address specific risks faced by women and girls in migration and to implement gender-responsive policies, including the establishment of safe and legal routes, the strengthening of the protection of women from violence in reception centres and the improvement of age-assessment procedures; call for the recognition of gender-based persecution and gender apartheid as grounds for seeking asylum;

(ab) advocate for girls’ right to inclusive, equitable and quality education, as a key driver of empowerment and the achievement of gender equality, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, opportunities and capacities that are essential for their whole lives, enabling them to claim their rights, access justice, participate fully in public life, and combat gender-based violence; point out the importance of promoting women’s empowerment through inclusive, equitable and quality education, training and life-long learning, which are of vital importance for fighting gender stereotypes, attitudes and prejudices in all their dimensions and combating persisting inequalities; recall the importance of preventing gender-based violence through adequate campaigns and other actions, including by increasing digital media literacy, as well as through relevant, targeted education on age-appropriate, comprehensive relationships and sexuality, in order to increase knowledge about bodily integrity; highlight the need for a deeper understanding of anti-rights and anti-gender movements, including disinformation on gender equality, the incel phenomenon and misogyny and, in particular, their online manifestation known as the manosphere; advocate for more active policies to counter these phenomena and their narratives;

(ac) emphasise that war and conflict have a disproportionate and devastating impact on women, and advocate for peace and inclusive negotiations worldwide as essential pathways to ending conflict and the violence women and girls face in these settings; recognise the remarkable work carried out by women serving in UN peacekeeping missions across conflict zones; stress that women’s rights and gender equality are essential to the rule of law and resilient and inclusive democracies; highlight, with concern, that millions of women and girls, particularly in contexts of conflict and displacement, continue to experience discrimination, violence, and the denial of their dignity and agency;

✦ Wording Removes the word 'feminist' before 'foreign, development and security policy'.

(ad) commit the EU to a feminist foreign, development and security policy, which is inclusive and intersectional, prioritising the needs of women and LGBTIQ+ human rights defenders;

(ae) stress that femicide, defined as the gender-related killing of women and girls, constitutes one of the most extreme forms of gender-based violence and represents a grave violation of universal fundamental rights; strongly condemn the absence of a harmonised definition of this crime and the persistent inconsistencies in data collection and reporting on it, which severely hinders effective prevention and evidence-based policymaking; call for global recognition of this crime and global efforts to eliminate femicide;

2. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council, the Commission, and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and, for information, to the EU Special Representative for Human Rights.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Equality between women and men is a fundamental principle of the European Union. Gender mainstreaming and an intersectional approach must be implemented and integrated across all EU policies, ensuring consistency between internal and external action in order to promote human rights, democracy, and gender equality worldwide. Women’s human rights and gender equality are not only fundamental rights, but also preconditions for development, poverty reduction, and for building peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable societies.

Access to justice, enshrined in international law and in Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, is central to the rule of law and democracy. Yet access to justice for women remains a complex and critical issue across all regions. Women continue to be significantly under-represented at the highest levels of the judiciary and prosecutorial authorities, especially in leadership roles such as presidents of courts, chief justices, and heads of prosecution offices. At the same time, judicial stereotyping and prevailing gender norms hinder justice for women victims and survivors of violence.

The United Nations has promoted greater participation of women in the justice sector, and evidence shows that increased female representation within judicial institutions advances more victim-centred approaches to justice. This is particularly relevant in responding to violence against women and domestic violence, which constitute violations of fundamental rights. Legal systems must be responsive to the needs of victims by ensuring adequate protection and remedies, yet many women still face substantial barriers in reporting abuse and accessing legal support. Many women and girls, particularly those facing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination, experience the justice system as lacking sensitivity to the realities of vulnerable groups.

This recommendation calls on the Council to reconfirm the EU’s commitment to gender equality and to ensure that women’s rights are fully implemented in all aspects of EU external action through an inclusive, intersectional, and adequately funded approach. It also stresses the need for the full involvement of Parliament and its Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in shaping the EU’s position at the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

The recommendation further pledges strong support for UN Women as the central actor within the UN system for advancing women’s rights and calls on all UN member states, together with the EU, to provide adequate funding. It underlines the importance of ambitious and complementary European and international instruments, with robust provisions to guarantee women’s empowerment and access to justice, including access to legal aid and consideration of specialised courts for gender-based violence. Protecting women’s rights through effective justice systems builds a path to fairer societies, in line with the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG16).

Finally, the recommendation emphasises the need for gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting across all EU policy areas, for the acceleration of international commitments to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls, and for the promotion of women’s equal representation in the judiciary. Women’s rights and gender equality are essential to the rule of law, resilient democracies, and the EU’s core values, and the Union must show leadership in ensuring that these rights are guaranteed in practice. Access to justice for all is key for just and inclusive societies and a precondition for substantive gender equality and human rights.