Mr President, I welcome the opportunity this evening to debate the violation of women's rights in EU international relations. Historically, the very concept of international relations has really excluded women. As Professor Cynthia Enlow, one of the eminent authors in gender and international relations, describes, the value of women's experiences in war, marriage, trade, prostitution, factory work or domestic chores has been ignored by world leaders and on the international level. This in turn has led to classical international relations being one of the most gender-blind forms of political analysis. Women worldwide still earn less than men even here in the European Union where the gender pay gap still cuts across all sectors, have less access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities and are often denied full political and economic rights. Violence against women often stems from this very discrimination, though women are not seen as equal to men. In turn, gender-based violence is legitimised and women's human rights are denied. Women should be entitled to the right to life; the right not to be subjected to torture; the right to equal protection in times of international or internal armed conflict; the right to liberty and security of the person; the right to equal protection under the law; the right to equality in the family; the right to the highest standard of physical and mental health and the right to just and favourable conditions of work. Even in European Union countries we still see that violence against women is treated unfairly. If I take Italy – which at the moment holds the presidency of the European Union – as an example, in February 1999 the Italian Supreme Court overturned on appeal, a court verdict which had found a male driving instructor guilty of raping his 18-year-old student. The Supreme Court noted that the victim was wearing jeans at the time of the offence and stated that jeans cannot even be partly removed without the active cooperation of the person wearing them. The court decided that the victim had consented to sex and concluded that the rape was not proven. With these kinds of attitudes, the emphasis on women's rights being integral to human rights is vital. As my Spanish colleague said, at the moment they are merely seen as an aside, rather than being integral to human rights. Gender considerations have to be taken into account through gender mainstreaming. We should welcome the Commission's initiatives. However, there is always more that can be done. The initiative to include a clause in the 2003 budget which states that the lack of action to prevent and combat severe violence against women, such as stoning, public castigation, genital mutilation, burning and rape will constitute a reason to suspend EU assistance must be taken into consideration. In Kenya, in one particular community, the incidence of genital mutilation was as high as 97%. Wife inheritance continues, and experiences of rape and domestic abuse are rife. In Pakistan, the Human Rights Commission estimated that in the year 2000 a woman was raped every two hours and hundreds of women were victims of honour killings, domestic violence, burnings and murder. As you start to explore the nature of violence against women, and the European Union's role in international relations, there are pressures we can place to help to prevent these atrocities from happening. We have an opportunity to make international relations wake up to their responsibility and recognise women. We have responsibilities in the European Union to uphold women's rights across the globe.

Political group: PSE