Check against delivery

Mr. President,

One in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

As we commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and celebrate the key international milestones -- notably the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and CEDAW -- we must acknowledge that these global statistics remain alarming.

Despite our efforts, we are currently witnessing a significant rise in violations of women’s and girls’ human rights and in violence against them globally. From the Taliban’s institutionalised system of gender oppression and abuse against women and girls, which may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity, to the instrumentalization and weaponization of sexual and gender-based violence in Ukraine, DRC, Sudan, South Sudan and Myanmar.

The European Union condemns in the strongest of terms every act of violence everywhere, including but not limited to physical, sexual, economic, and psychological violence, abuse and exploitation, online and offline.

Mr President,

It is beyond comprehension that we still need to stand here today, advocating for the right of half the population to enjoy their universal human rights. We cannot wait for another 25 years to eliminate violence against women and girls. The EU will continue to work tirelessly to eradicate all forms of violence within and outside our borders, and urge for an accelerated global action to make this paradigm a reality.

The EU is far from free from the scourge of violence against women, and has been making immense efforts to ensure the protection and safety of all women across our Member States. The EU acceded to the Istanbul Convention last year, and this year, to solidify and help coordinate the important work of our 27 Member States in the field, we adopted the first-ever EU-wide law combating violence against women. Female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and the most widespread forms of cyber violence[1] are now criminalised at EU level. Moreover, and victims of any crime amounting to violence against women and domestic violence will benefit from strong measures of prevention, protection, support, access to justice, and improved coordination and cooperation among authorities across EU Member States.

On an international scale, the EU and the UN, through the Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence and the ACT programme, continue our efforts to ensure the sustainability and long-term impact of actions implemented to eliminate sexual and gender-based violence with a comprehensive and whole-of-society approach, including through the Spotlight Initiative.

Mr President,

At this special occasion, we wish to honour all women and girls who courageously fight for and defend their own and others’ human rights, often at great personal risk. The Mirabal Sisters, whose story brought us together today, serve as enduring symbols of such remarkable resilience and strength, and continue to inspire countless others to stand up against violence and injustice.

Mr President,

Eliminating discrimination and violence against all women and girls, and ending gender inequality, requires the commitment of men and boys to be champions of gender equality – and particularly for men in power, to be receptive to the inputs of women’s rights movements and foster a culture of zero-tolerance, standing up against discrimination, sexism, and gender-based violence, and pushing for structural, institutional, social and cultural change, benefitting all human beings, benefitting everyone, including men and boys.

The EU remains fully committed to achieving all SDGs and targets by 2030, with gender equality and women’s and girls' full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and their empowerment at its core, also as an indispensable prerequisite for sustainable development in any society as a whole. We will continue to call for, and support the international community to accelerate its efforts.

Thank you.

[1] Non-consensual sharing of intimate material, cyber harassment, cyber stalking and gender-based hate speech.