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

Amendments tabled for the plenary sitting on this text, in their own numbering series. This is a different set from the committee amendments tracked elsewhere on AmendEU, and is not counted in any of the site’s amendment totals.

1. Amendment 1PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital B
   Current text

   B. whereas gender equality, democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law are indivisibly linked; whereas a growing backlash against women’s rights and gender equality is driven by the rise of anti-gender and anti-democratic movements; whereas recent cuts in US development aid disproportionately impact women and girls worldwide, increasing vulnerabilities and harming communities; whereas the UN General Assembly has warned of active resistance to gender equality and a transnational backlash against women’s rights; whereas there is an urgent need to reaffirm substantive equality and the human rights of women and girls5 ; _________________ 5 https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g24/073/47…

   Amendment

   B. whereas gender equality, democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law are indivisibly linked; whereas a growing backlash against women’s rights and equality is driven by the rise of Islamist movements, in particular through the imposition of the Islamic veil or through demands by the Islamic community; whereas the UN General Assembly has warned of active resistance to gender equality and a transnational backlash against women’s rights; whereas there is an urgent need to reaffirm substantive equality and the human rights of women and girls5; whereas such practices as honour crimes, stoning, sexual violence against women and girls during clandestine crossings of the Mediterranean Sea5a…

   Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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2. Amendment 2PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital F
   Current text

   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;

   Amendment

   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 are replaced by community rules and special or exceptional courts; 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;

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3. Amendment 3PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point a
   Current text

   (a) reaffirm the EU’s strong commitment to gender equality and guarantee the full implementation of women’s and girls’ rights in all aspects of EU external action, including development, trade and foreign policy, through an adequately funded, inclusive and intersectional approach that challenges gender stereotypes and is based on the principle of non-discrimination, in order to swiftly advance gender equality;

   Amendment

   (a) reaffirm the EU’s strong commitment to gender equality and guarantee the full implementation of women’s and girls’ rights in all aspects of EU external action, including development, trade, and foreign policy, through the conditionality of Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) aid and external European action on unconditional compliance with equality, and an inclusive and intersectional approach that challenges gender stereotypes and is based on the principle of non-discrimination, in order to swiftly advance gender equality;

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4. Amendment 4PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
   Amendment

   (ba) recall that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to rights and freedoms, without distinction of any kind on grounds such as race, sex, religion, opinion or sexual orientation;

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5. Amendment 5PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
   Amendment

   (fa) call on the Member States to ensure the accessibility of health services to all women, with full respect for their dignity and specific needs;

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6. Amendment 6PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point o a (new)
   Amendment

   (oa) call for the Member States to guarantee equal pay for men and women in equal jobs, in a timely and fair manner, without overburdening procedures for employers, in compliance with national legislation;

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7. Amendment 7PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point s
   Current text

   (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 disabil…

   Amendment

   (s) apply the conditionality of Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) aid and external European action to unconditional compliance with equality; 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…

   Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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8. Amendment 8PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point aa
   Current text

   (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;

   Amendment

   (aa) strongly condemn all forms of sexual violence; stress that women have the fundamental right to live in safety in their country of origin, free from violence, persecution or discrimination; reaffirm the right of women and girls subjected to acts of persecution owing to gender-based violence to receive effective access to justice;

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9. Amendment 9PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point ad
   Current text

   (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;

   Amendment

   (ad) commit the Member States to a foreign, development and security policy that gives priority to the protection of women and human rights defenders against dictatorial, totalitarian and misogynistic regimes; stress that external action and foreign policy must be fully consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and grounded in respect for human dignity;

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10. Amendment 10ECRMotion for a resolution · Citation 4 a (new)
    Amendment

    – having regard to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences of 14 July 2025 entitled ‘The different manifestations of violence against women and girls in the context of surrogacy’;

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11. Amendment 11ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital B
    Current text

    B. whereas gender equality, democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law are indivisibly linked; whereas a growing backlash against women’s rights and gender equality is driven by the rise of anti-gender and anti-democratic movements; whereas recent cuts in US development aid disproportionately impact women and girls worldwide, increasing vulnerabilities and harming communities; whereas the UN General Assembly has warned of active resistance to gender equality and a transnational backlash against women’s rights; whereas there is an urgent need to reaffirm substantive equality and the human rights of women and girls5 ; _________________ 5 https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g24/073/47…

    Amendment

    B. whereas gender equality, democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law are indivisibly linked; whereas a growing backlash against women’s rights and gender equality is driven by the rise in physical and sexual violence;

    Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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12. Amendment 12ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital C a (new)
    Amendment

    Ca. whereas only biological women can get pregnant;

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13. Amendment 13ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital D a (new)
    Amendment

    Da. whereas there is a narrative within institutions that disparages motherhood, considering it to be an obstacle to women’s careers and a burden on their personal lives; whereas this discourse contributes both to the decline in the European birth rate and to the denigration of women;

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14. Amendment 14ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital G
    Current text

    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 th…

    Amendment

    G. whereas affirmative action policies are an obstacle to equal treatment and meritocracy, and undermine the dignity and individual talents of people;

    Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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15. Amendment 15ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital N
    Current text

    N. whereas rape remains a widespread human rights violation and is often used as a weapon of war to terrorise civilian populations and destroy communities; whereas urgent action is needed to end impunity, in this regard, and secure justice for victims of rape;

    Amendment

    N. whereas rape remains a widespread human rights violation and is often used as a weapon of war to terrorise civilian populations and destroy communities; whereas there is a worrying increase in cases of rape of elderly women in certain EU countries1a; whereas this phenomenon is under-documented, particularly with regard to the profiles of perpetrators, and insufficiently addressed by public policies on prevention, victim protection and prosecution of perpetrators; whereas urgent action is needed to end impunity, in this regard, and secure justice for victims of rape; _________________ 1a French Senate, ‘Transparency on sexual violence against our elders’, 5 June 2025, https://www.senat.fr/…

    Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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16. Amendment 16ECRMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
    Amendment

    (da) condemn the practice of surrogacy, which involves the reproductive exploitation and use of women’s bodies for financial or other gain, particularly in the case of vulnerable women in developing countries;

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17. Amendment 17ECRMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
    Amendment

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

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18. Amendment 18ECRMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
    Amendment

    (ka) encourage all measures aimed at protecting women’s health and safety, including judicial measures, allocating resources to border security and protection, and providing specific health resources;

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