GOBIERNO MINISTERIO DE ESPAÑA DE ASUNTOS EXTERIORES, UNIÓN EUROPEA Y COOPERACIÓN SPAIN’S FEMINIST FOREIGN POLICY Promoting Gender Equality in Spain’s External Action 1 GOBIERNO MINISTERIO DE ESPAÑA DE ASUNTOS EXTERIORES, UNIÓN EUROPEA Y COOPERACIÓN SUBSECRETARÍA Secretaría General Técnica Vicesecretaría General Técnica Área de Documentación y Publicaciones © Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación Secretaría de Estado de Asuntos Exteriores y para Iberoamérica y el Caribe. Dirección General de Naciones Unidas, Organismos Internacionales y Derechos Humanos. 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Monitoring mechanism and resources 32 Appendix: 2021 Calendar 33 3 Promoting Gender Equality in Spain’s External Action At the same time, the feminist diplomacy Preface mirrors the necessary coherence between national policy and the external action of the State. It is the reflection, at the international “We will adopt a feminist foreign policy. I level, of the commitment of the Government of announce this in the year in which we celebrate Spain to equality and women´s rights. the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 20th This Guide to Spain´s Feminist Foreign Policy anniversary of United Nations Security Council is an operational guide for the practical Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, implementation of a public policy, delivered that have to continue inspiring us. Sensitivity to through our commitment to multilateralism, gender issues will be present in the policies and our actions in the European Union, our bilateral instruments of our external action, including relations as well as through our development development cooperation”. With these words, at cooperation policy, not to mention equality my very first appearance at the Foreign Affairs within our own Foreign Service. We will lead Committee in Parliament, I was announcing by example, as we have been doing since the the commitment of the Government of Spain beginning of this legislature, increasing the to a Feminist Diplomacy. proportion of women among Heads of Missions from 14 to 21% over the past year. Twenty-five years after the Beijing Conference, achieving gender equality remains a great In short, Feminist Diplomacy contributes to a challenge, the unfinished task of our time. better, more just world, where women and men It is true that progress has been made in the are equal in rights and opportunities. Nothing last decade, thanks to the implementation of more. Nothing less. ambitious progressive policies, but global data highlight persistent inequalities and a risk of regression, especially after COVID 19. Arancha González Laya Minister for Foreign Affairs, Equality is a synonym of diversity and thus also European Union and Cooperation a synonym of wealth. Wealth in the exercise of rights by all citizens, but also economic wealth, prosperity and justice. In this sense, our feminist foreign policy promotes and defends our interests as well as values of our society. 4 1 Promoting Gender Equality in Spain’s External Action By announcing an explicit commitment to (2019); and, more recently, the Strategy for implementing a feminist foreign policy, Spain External Action, together with this guide for joins the countries that have placed gender the implementation of the feminist foreign equality and empowerment of women and girls policy. at the centre of their foreign policy. Upholding the same level of commitment to The decision to move towards a feminist foreign equality in all public policies, including those policy stems from the analysis of the current with an external and global dimension, is a situation, Spain’s already existing leadership at matter of coherence, and therefore also a the highest level in this area, and from a strong matter of country´s credibility. Due to its political commitment based on the vision normative framework and public policies, Spain of achieving the 2030 Agenda of the United has become an international reference in areas POLICY FOREIGN FEMINIST SPAIN’S Nations (UN) and its Sustainable Development such as combating gender-based violence, Goals (SDGs). The prevalence of inequalities promoting gender equality in the context of between women and men underscores the employment and in work-life balance policies, need to step up efforts to close gender gaps. and fostering gender budgeting. The preamble In this context, Spain’s foreign policy will to Act 2/2014 on the State’s External contribute to moving towards real and effective Action and the Foreign Service identifies equality at the international level. promoting equality between women and men and eradicating gender-based violence as two Spain’s normative framework is well developed of Spain’s core values and interests. and comprises the Organic Law 3/2007 of 22 March, on effective equality between Moreover, a feminist foreign policy enables women and men1; the Action Plan for the Spain to step up the fulfilment of its Implementation of the 2030 Agenda: Towards international commitments. The 2030 a Spanish sustainable development strategy Agenda and meeting the targets of SDG 5 1 Article 15, which addresses the issue of mainstreaming the principle of equal treatment between women and men. In line with this, and with a feminist foreign policy in mind, the latest Royal Decree on basic organisational structure included the provision that “The powers set forth in this Royal Decree shall be exercised with a cross-cutting gender approach which guarantees real and effective implementa- tion of Organic Law 3/2007 of 22 March, on effective equality between women and men.” 5 > Women are up to 27% more product (GDP) would rise by nearly (International Trade Center, UN, likely to suffer from food insecurity 10% by 2050 (European Institute World Trade Organization). (UN Women). for Gender Equality). > According to data from surveys > An estimated 60% of preventa- > Only 55% of working-age women conducted in 83 countries, the ble maternal deaths occur in set- (15-64 years) are in the labour average time dedicated to care tings of conflict, displacement, and market, compared with 78% of work and unpaid domestic work is natural disasters. Every day, more men (World Economic Forum). three times more for women than than 500 women and adolescent for men (UN). girls die from complications during > During the Covid-19 pandemic, pregnancy and childbirth in emer- cases of violence against women Women are under-represented in gency contexts (UN Women). and girls rose by 30% worldwide management positions. In most (UN Women). of the 67 countries for which data > Improvements in gender equality is available, less than one third of in the European Union (EU) would > Only 13% of agricultural lands senior and middle management lead to an additional 10.5 million are owned by women (UN). positions were held by women jobs by 2050. The employment between 2009 and 2015 (UN). rate would reach nearly 80%, and > Only one out of five exporting the EU’s per capita gross domestic companies is owned by women guide our efforts in advancing towards gender (GAP III); and the EU Action Plan on Women, equality. In the humanitarian area, the 2016 Peace and Security 2019-2024. World Humanitarian Summit established gender equality commitments to guide the Gender equality is not only a matter of rights international humanitarian system. The and social justice; achieving gender equality international legal and policy framework benefits society as a whole. Study after study on gender equality is highly developed and has confirmed that gender equality favours comprises the Convention on the Elimination employment, economic growth, increased of All Forms of Discrimination against Women productivity, and improved social structures. (CEDAW) and the 1995 Beijing Declaration At the same time, women’s full participation and Platform for Action. In the European in all phases of conflict resolution, including context, key documents include the Council peace processes, has proven essential to their of Europe Convention on Preventing and effectiveness, success and sustainability. Combating Violence against Women and Therefore, the 2030 Sustainable Development Domestic