madam president we must reject in the strongest possible terms any targeting of violence against women from intimidation to sexual assault
these are abhorrent crimes often perpetrated against the most vulnerable and defenceless people
unfortunately it is a fact that many countries across the world not only in north africa and in the middle east still lack a proper legal framework to protect women and girls from violence
there is nothing to encourage the reporting of such attacks
much more must be done to deter perpetrators and to hold them accountable for their actions
women continue to endure discriminatory laws and deeply entrenched cultural inequality
in the case of egypt for example the national committee formed to write the new constitution is composed only of men and even the new cabinet has only one female minister
this is not sustainable as was made clear by the courage shown by tunisian and egyptian women during the recent events in their countries
if half the population is excluded from political and institutional reform it can hardly succeed
against this backdrop we strongly condemn the increasing reports of severe human rights violations including rape sexual assault and severe humiliation of women activists
the european union is committed to strengthening the role of women in political civil social economic and cultural spheres as well as to fighting against discrimination and impunity
this is why one of the eu's eight human rights guidelines explicitly aims to promote gender equality and combat discrimination against women
and the barcelona declaration of nineteen ninety-five which established the euro-mediterranean partnership specifically reinforces this commitment for the euromed region
gender equality is one of the five-year work plan priorities agreed by the heads of state at the barcelona summit in two thousand and five held to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the euro-mediterranean partnership
in view of these commitments the euro-mediterranean ministerial conference on strengthening the role of women in society held in november two thousand and six in istanbul started an innovative and pioneering process
ministers including those from algeria jordan lebanon morocco occupied palestinian territory syria and tunisia agreed to embrace a holistic approach based on the following interlinked priorities first women's political and civil rights second women's social and economic rights and sustainable development and finally women's rights in the cultural sphere and the role of communications and the mass media
since the two thousand and six conference work has been ongoing on implementation of a common framework of action in particular through the pursuit of country priorities with a follow-up mechanism and reports published by the european commission
the partners in the union for the mediterranean reaffirmed their commitments to this at the second ministerial conference in marrakesh in november two thousand and nine
civil society was fully involved in the discussions
increasing awareness and visibility of the process was one of the big challenges agreed by almost all participants in the process
beyond this regional framework the european union's bilateral dialogue including through sub-committees dealing with gender issues is an important method for addressing these pressing concerns
let me conclude madam president by saying that the european union will not tolerate violence against women in any form and we will use every avenue we can to prevent it
