On humanitarian aid in a time of polycrisis – reaffirming our principles for a more effective and ambitious response to humanitarian crises

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AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality submits the following to the Committee on Development, as the committee responsible :

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Citation 5 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the EU Gender Action Plan III (GAP III) for 2021-2025,

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Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Recital A a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

A a. whereas women and girls living in humanitarian aid contexts face severe gender inequalities, such as limited access to resources, including food, a lack of education, work and sexual and reproductive health rights, and a greater risk of gender-based violence;

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Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Recital B a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

B a. whereas polycrisis refers to a complex and interconnected set of crises occurring simultaneously1a; whereas women and girls worldwide are disproportionately affected by poverty, sexual violence, humanitarian crises, climate change, conflicts, extremism, terrorism, wars and food shortages; whereas this also makes children more vulnerable;

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1a https://policy-lab.ec.europa.eu/news/unraveling-polycrisis-foresight-and-innovation-2025-03-26_en.

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Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Recital B b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

B b. whereas violence against women in all its forms (physical, sexual, psychological, economic or cyber) is a violation of human rights, an extreme form of discrimination against women and one of the main obstacles to achieving gender equality;

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Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Recital B c (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

B c. whereas the US funding freeze has severely disrupted humanitarian efforts, hindering project implementation, staffing and the ability to support women and girls, with an especially negative effect on women’s involvement in the humanitarian response; whereas investing in gender equality saves lives in humanitarian settings; whereas there is evidence that gender-responsive humanitarian programming delivers high returns, namely USD 8 for every USD 1 invested1a;

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1a https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures-humanitarian-action.

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Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Recital B d (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

B d. whereas local and national women-led and women’s rights organisations – along with the crisis-affected women and girls they support – are among the most severely impacted;

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Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Recital B e (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

B e. whereas the new EU global health strategy, adopted by the Commission in 2022, makes global health an essential pillar of EU external policy and an investment priority of the Global Gateway;

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Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

1 a. Points out that humanitarian crises often exacerbate pre-existing gender inequalities and discriminatory social norms, further limiting women and girls’ access to essential services, the full exercise of their rights, and personal autonomy;

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Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

1 b. Is concerned about the backlash against gender equality and the international human rights framework that sets out to protect women and girls in vulnerable or marginalised situations across the world, including LGBTIQ+ people; expresses its concern about the persistence of the practice of female genital mutilation, and its sympathy for the victims;

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Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 c (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

1 c. Is concerned that human rights violations and gender-based violence remain pervasive in conflict settings, while efforts towards prevention and survivor support, and access to justice, remain insufficient; expresses concern that, amid shrinking services, women-led and women’s rights organisations fear that gender-based violence may go unaddressed or intensify in severity;

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Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 d (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

1 d. Underlines that, in line with IHL, the EU is committed to ensuring that women and girls affected by humanitarian crises have unimpeded access to reproductive and maternal healthcare services, as part of their protected right to essential medical care and their equitable integration into primary and secondary healthcare systems;

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Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 e (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

1 e. Calls for enhanced coordinated action and substantial investment to achieve universal health coverage, especially for people in vulnerable situations, and for vulnerable populations and regions, including minorities, women and girls, and persons with disabilities;

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Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 5 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

5 a. Welcomes the growing number and formalisation of gender focal persons (GFPs), with 99 % of EU delegations and 87 % of headquarters services now having GFPs; points out that humanitarian gender-age focal points help maintain focus on gender-based violence prevention and response;

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Amendment 14

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 a. Calls on the Commission to ensure regular, adequate and sustainable funding for European programmes and organisations working for gender equality and women’s rights, as reducing assistance will severely undermine access to life-saving services provided by women-led and women’s rights organisations;

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Amendment 15

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 b. Regrets the withdrawal of funding by USAID and recognises its devastating impact on the global community’s aim of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls;

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Amendment 16

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 12 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

12 a. Stresses that in humanitarian crises women and girls are disproportionately affected by the collapse of essential services, and their basic needs are often the first to go unmet, even though they are expected to fill service gaps – for example, by taking on increased caregiving responsibilities and securing food and water;

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Amendment 17

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 12 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

12 b. Calls for ensuring that women and girls have sustained access to income, food and safe spaces, and for recognising that the absence of these essentials significantly increases the risk of gender-based violence, exploitation, and harmful practices such as early marriage, transactional sex and migration via unsafe routes;

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Amendment 18

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 14 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

14 a. Calls on the Commission to maintain existing partnerships with local women-led and women’s rights organisations, and, where changes are essential, to ensure timely, transparent communication to support dignified, harm-reducing transitions and continuity of services;

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Amendment 19

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 18 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

18 a. Recalls that the EU must bridge the humanitarian and development nexus to respond to the impact of crisis and conflict on the most vulnerable students, such as girls and young women;

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Amendment 20

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 18 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

18 b. Reaffirms that the EU global health strategy focuses on addressing the root causes of ill health, with special emphasis on the needs and rights of women, children and young people, including universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights; reiterates that ensuring women’s access to healthcare and psychosocial support is a key component of relief and recovery efforts and a priority within the humanitarian-development-peace nexus;

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Amendment 21

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 19 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

19 a. Calls for the EU and the Member States to prioritise the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, ensuring that women’s rights and the gender perspective are integrated into foreign and security affairs, humanitarian aid and development cooperation; highlights the importance of renewing the EU’s Women, Peace and Security action plan and of openly tackling any pushback against this agenda worldwide1a;

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1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/769691/IUST_BRI(2025)769691_EN.pdf.

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Amendment 22

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 21

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

21. Highlights the crucial role played by women in humanitarian settings; regrets that local women-led organisations are among the hardest hit by the recent cuts to foreign aid, and encourages better engagement with them in humanitarian programming7 ;

21. Highlights the crucial role played by women in humanitarian settings; regrets that local women-led organisations are among the hardest hit by the recent cuts to foreign aid, and encourages better engagement with them in humanitarian programming7; notes with regret that almost half (47 %) of women-led and women’s organisations surveyed expect to shut down within six months if current funding levels persist, while more than a third (35 %) remain trapped in uncertainty, unable to plan or sustain their work, and only 18 % report that they anticipate being able to remain operational for more than a year7a;

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7 UN Women, ‘Humanitarian funding cuts threaten women’s rights: What’s at stake and how to help’, 13 May 2025, https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/explainer/humanitarian-funding-cuts-threaten-womens-rights-whats-at-stake-and-how-to-help.

7 UN Women, ‘Humanitarian funding cuts threaten women’s rights: What’s at stake and how to help’, 13 May 2025, https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/explainer/humanitarian-funding-cuts-threaten-womens-rights-whats-at-stake-and-how-to-help.

7a https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/at-a-breaking-point-the-impact-of-foreign-aid-cuts-on-womens-organizations-in-humanitarian-crises-worldwide-en.pdf.

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