Ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
The Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize that women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change. Oftentimes, restricted access to education, resources, and decision-making spaces deepen and intensify the impacts on women and girls, developing an increased burden on their livelihoods. At the same time, women and girls possess critical knowledge and are already developing innovative gender-just solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Climate policies must recognize both the differentiated impacts and the innovative women-led solutions in order to be gender-responsive. Policies must also be developed in consultation with communities, including women, in order to ensure effective, safe, and sustainable implementation.
Key International Instruments:
Agenda 2030, Sustainable Development Goal 5: SDG 5 recognizes that ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right but also crucial to accelerating sustainable development. It recognizes that empowering women and girls has a multiplier effect and helps drive up economic growth and development across the board.
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was the unprecedented global pledge to attaining equality, development, and peace for women worldwide. The Platform for Action requires immediate action by all to generate a just, humane, and peaceful world based on fundamental freedoms and human rights.
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): CEDAW defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): UDHR, although not legally binding, has been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, women’s rights, regional human rights instruments, and national constitutions.
Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace & Security: UNSCR 1325 addresses not only the inordinate impact of war on women but also the pivotal role women should and do play in conflict management, conflict resolution, and sustainable peace.