Gender budgeting as a tool for safeguarding women’s health

Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 12575 | 12 April 2011

Author(s):

Committee of Ministers

Origin

Adopted at the 1111th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (6 April 2011). 2011 - Second part-session

Reply to Recommendation

: Recommendation 1921 (2010)

1. The Committee of Ministers has taken note of Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1921 (2010) on “Gender budgeting as a tool for safeguarding women’s health” and brought it to the attention of member states’ governments. It has also forwarded it to the relevant intergovernmental committees, [(1) Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men (CDEG) and European Health Committee (CDSP).] which have made comments that are taken into account in this reply.

2. Gender budgeting is a practical application of gender mainstreaming. It is one of the crucial steps identified by the Committee of Ministers for abolishing obstacles to the achievement of de facto gender equality, as underlined in the Committee of Ministers’ Declaration on “Making gender equality a reality”. [(2) Declaration: Making gender equality a reality, 119th Session of the Committee of Ministers, Madrid, 12 May 2009.] The Committee of Ministers considers that it is important to apply this principle in the public health field as a means of combating the discrimination which women suffer in terms of health prevention and protection. It therefore joins with the Assembly in drawing attention to the provisions of Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)1 on the inclusion of gender differences in health policy and encourages member states to implement where appropriate the principles and guidelines which it sets out.

3. In this connection, the Committee of Ministers informs the Assembly that in accordance with the Action Plan adopted during the 7th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for gender equality, held in Baku in May 2010, the CDEG would undertake, inter alia, the follow-up of “the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)1 on the inclusion of gender differences in the health policy” and “continue action to promote and develop the use of the gender mainstreaming strategy in all programmes and activities within the Council of Europe, and in this context develop and/or undertake activities in co-operation with other Council of Europe steering committees and bodies in different policy fields; follow up their implementation and assess their impact on achieving gender equality.” The Committee of Ministers considers that it would be particularly relevant for the CDEG to co-operate with the CDSP on these issues.

4. The Committee of Ministers furthermore informs the Assembly that a conference on gender budgeting was organised in Athens in 2009 and that a seminar on “Gender budgeting: from theory to practice”, organised by the Council of Europe and the International Organisation of La Francophonie, took place on 4 and 5 November 2010 in Bitola, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, in the framework of a pilot project on gender budgeting in two member states of both organisations.