On the occasion of the 5th Ministerial Conference on Strenghtening the Role of Women in Society, which took place in the morning of 26 October 2022 in Madrid, Ministers responsible for gender equality from the 42 member states of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) endorsed a Ministerial Declaration to accelerate the strengthening of women’s role in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Ministers agreed to enhance legal frameworks, improve women’s access to leadership in public life and decision-making, raise women´s participation in economic life and combat and prevent violence against women and girls.

They also agreed that, in light of the various crises, including those relating to health, climate change, and more recently emerging needs (food, water and energy security), special efforts are needed to strengthen women’s economic and political empowerment and to end violence against women and girls in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

The UfM High-Level Conference on Women for the Mediterranean, held bi-annually, followed the Ministerial Meeting, took off in the afternoon of 26 October and ended on the 27 October. It gathered over 100 high-level representatives and international experts to discuss operational ways to implement the mandates emerging from the Ministerial Declaration, in the face of the current sanitary, food and energy crises.

December 2022