News item | 12-05-2023 | 09:58
The Netherlands wants to reduce inequality and is committed to the equality of men, women and LGBTIQ+ people all over the world. Since last year, the Netherlands has been focusing more strongly on this with a feminist foreign policy. We share a selection of the highlights of the first year.
On 13 May it is exactly one year ago that Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs and Minister Liesje Schreinemacher for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation announced that the Netherlands will pursue a feminist foreign policy. With this, the Netherlands joined a number of frontrunners who are campaigning internationally for gender equality by pursuing a feminist foreign policy, such as Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Canada, Mexico and Chile.
Equality central
Promoting women’s rights and gender equality has long been central to Dutch foreign policy. For example, the Netherlands has one of the largest funds for women’s rights and gender equality in the world, pays a lot of attention to the meaningful participation of women and supports activities and programs that promote women’s rights, gender equality, sexual rights and reproductive health.
By opting for a feminist foreign policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that it wants to focus more on equal opportunities for everyone. Over the past year, the ministry has already put feminist foreign policy into practice in various ways, both at home and abroad.
Ukrainian Accountability Conference
Last summer, the Dutch government, together with the Public Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the European Commission, organized the Ukraine Accountability Conference. Combating sexual violence in conflict was an important theme during this conference. Important steps were taken during the conference to ensure that war crimes, such as sexual and gender-based violence, do not go unpunished.
For example, a Dialogue Group on Accountability for Ukraine was established as a result of the conference. This network offers an international platform for discussing and connecting initiatives against impunity. In March 2023, Minister Hoekstra launched the platform.
Enlarge image
COP27
In the autumn of 2022, the annual UN climate summit (COP27) will take place in Egypt. For the first time, a gender expert was part of the Dutch delegation this year. The expert had the important task of better integrating gender into the Dutch positions during the negotiations. At an event on feminist foreign policy, Minister Liesje Schreinemacher also highlighted the crucial role of female leadership in climate action and the importance of funding for women-led organisations.
Consultations
In the autumn of 2022, various online and offline consultations were also held to help think about the focus on feminist foreign policy. Employees of the ministry, Dutch representations and various partners were involved in the talks. A youth consultation was also organized by the Youth Ambassador for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
MenEngage Geneva
In February 2023, the kick-off of MenEngage Geneve took place at the residence of the Dutch Permanent Representative. MenEngage Geneva sees men as important partners in achieving gender equality. The Dutch initiative gives men a place to talk about gender equality and become aware of patterns. Women are also closely involved in the process, for example through an advisory committee and as facilitators.
Sanctions against sexual violence
In March 2023, the European Union (EU) announced that it would impose sanctions on individuals and organizations responsible for sexual violence and large-scale violations of women’s rights. The persons and organizations that the EU holds responsible for sexual violence will be placed on a sanctions list, as a result of which, for example, their assets in the EU will be frozen and individuals will no longer be able to travel to the EU. With this sanctions package, EU countries show that such actions are unacceptable and thus increase the attention for sexual violence. The Netherlands was one of the initiators of the sanctions package.
International Women’s Day
During International Women’s Day, Minister Liesje Schreinemacher spoke with the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board about the earthquakes and political situation in Syria. Minister Schreinemacher emphasized the importance of Syrian women’s participation in the peace process and assured the advisory body of continued Dutch support.
On the same day, Minister Hoekstra attended the opening of the exhibition ‘From Evin for Woman, Life, Freedom’, about female Iranian activists in captivity. The minister held one speech and signed on behalf of the Netherlands a joint statement to draw attention to the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
Future plans and international conference
Many steps have already been taken, but there is still room for further improvement and implementation. For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on a practical handbook for employees on the application of feminist foreign policy. This handbook builds on the main points from the letter to Parliament of 8 November 2022 and the consultations. The handbook is expected to be published this summer. The new toolkit ‘Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities for LGBTIQ+ Persons’ will also be published, which is intended for Dutch embassies and consulates.
In the autumn of 2023, the Netherlands will also organize an international conference on feminist foreign policy. With this, the Netherlands wants to contribute to broadening knowledge and promoting the conversation about a feminist foreign policy.