Gender mainstreaming in the central Asian region

Written declaration No. 806 | Doc. 16154 | 08 April 2025

Signatories:

Ms Laura CASTEL, Spain, UEL ; Mr Gergely ARATÓ, Hungary, SOC ; Ms Petra BAYR, Austria, SOC ; Ms Alice BERNARD , Belgium, UEL ; Ms Sevilay ÇELENK ÖZEN, Türkiye, UEL ; Ms Andrea EDER-GITSCHTHALER, Austria, EPP/CD ; Ms Béatrice FRESKO-ROLFO, Monaco, ALDE ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Mr Ettore Antonio LICHERI, Italy, UEL ; Mr George LOUCAIDES, Cyprus, UEL ; Ms Alessandra MAIORINO, Italy, UEL ; Ms Luz MARTINEZ SEIJO, Spain, SOC ; Ms Mariia MEZENTSEVA-FEDORENKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Olena MOSHENETS, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Zsolt NÉMETH, Hungary, ECPA ; Ms Christine PASQUIER-CIULLA, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Ms Agnes Sirkka PRAMMER, Austria, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Georgios STAMATIS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Mr Vladimir VARDANYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Markus WIECHEL, Sweden, ECPA

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

We draw attention to the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy (2024-2029), a main objective of which is to ensure women’s empowerment and gender equality in relation to global and geopolitical challenges.

The return of the Taliban to Afghanistan has shown the fragility of progress in women’s rights and exposed the vulnerabilities of women and girls.

In 2019, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched an initiative to provide educational opportunities to Afghan women in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. By 2027, more than 100 Afghan women are expected to earn academic and professional degrees at universities in central Asia.

Recalling UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution (79/268) “UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan” to be established in Almaty and taking into account SDG 5: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, first presented by President Tokayev at the 74th session of the UNGA, we call on Council of Europe member States to support and co-operate with this upcoming UN Regional Hub as a key platform for co-ordinating international efforts in the region and helping central Asian countries in their efforts to assist Afghan women.