Council Regulation (EC) No 2836/98 of 22 December 1998 on integrating of gender issues in development cooperation

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2836/98 of 22 December 1998 on integrating of gender issues in development cooperation
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130w thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of the Treaty (2),
(1) Whereas the importance of women's economic and social roles in developing countries has led to increasing international recognition that their full participation without discrimination is indispensable for sustainable and effective development;
(2) Whereas their contribution to development is presently achieved in the face of formidable obstacles specific to women, limiting the outcome of their work and reducing the benefits to society as a whole;
(3) Whereas these obstacles include persistent and severe disparities between women and men in the right to equal participation in development for women, access to basic services, particularly in the areas of education, training and health, access to decision-making and control over economic resources;
(4) Whereas development interventions have frequently failed to address adequately the differences between women's and men's situations, roles, opportunities and priorities, thereby reducing their overall success;
(5) Whereas redressing gender disparities and enhancing the role of women are crucial for social justice and the effectiveness of development efforts;
(6) Whereas development cooperation must encourage the necessary accompanying changes in attitudes, structures and mechanisms at political, economic, legal, community and household level;
(7) Whereas it is now recognized that though specific efforts to enhance the role of women in development remain as necessary as ever, the focus must widen to encompass both men's and women's roles, responsibilities, needs, access to resources and decision-making, and the inter-relationship between them, known as gender issues;
(8) Whereas development effectiveness requires that gender analysis should be systematically integrated into the conception, design, implementation and evaluation of all development interventions and strategies;
(9) Whereas the foregoing analysis is set out in more detail in the Commission's communication to the Council and the European Parliament on integrating gender issues in development cooperation of 18 September 1995 and was endorsed by the Council in its Resolution of 20 December 1995;
(10) Whereas in a series of conclusions from 1982 to 1993 the Council has stressed the importance it attaches to women's role in development;
(11) Whereas the Community and its Member States were signatories to the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies in 1985 and to the Declaration and Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995, which stressed the need for action against worldwide obstacles to gender equality and to ensure that this perspective is reflected in all policies and programmes;
(12) Whereas the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) considers discrimination against women as an obstacle to development which parties agree to eliminate using all appropriate means, and the UN Declaration on the Right to Development (1986) emphasizes the right of all persons to participate in and contribute to development and the need to undertake effective measures to ensure that women have an active role in the development process;
(13) Whereas the European Parliament has emphasized in numerous Resolutions, and particularly in its Resolution of 14 May 1992 on the situation of women in developing countries and its Resolution of 15 June 1995 on the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the need to integrate proper attention to women's roles and priorities in Community development cooperation and to take adequate measures to ensure active implementation of the conclusions of the Beijing Conference;
(14) Whereas the Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of 20 December 1995 endorses the Commission's communication on the same subject, requires the full integration of gender issues in development cooperation and coordination between the Commission and Member States in this field, and sets out guidelines which also translate into the field of development cooperation the political commitments undertaken at Beijing;
(15) Whereas this approach is further endorsed by the Resolution of the Council and the Member States on human and social development of 22 November 1996;
(16) Whereas the recognized importance of these issues to development effectiveness makes it appropriate to envisage specific activities aimed at ensuring adequate attention to gender issues across the mainstream of Community financial instruments, which should increasingly assume responsibility for these key questions;
(17) Whereas the most effective approach is strategic and precisely targeted sensitization initiatives capable of achieving a substantial multiplier effect, rather than the funding of small-scale operational projects; whereas Community development cooperation aid should also be used to a greater extent for specific action in favour of women;
(18) Whereas the importance of Community activities in the field of development cooperation necessitates measures by the Community to ensure its implementation of its commitments at Beijing, complementary to those undertaken by Member States;
(19) Whereas measures need to be taken to finance the activities covered by this Regulation;
(20) Whereas a financial reference amount, within the meaning of point 2 of the Declaration by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995 on the incorporation of financial provisions into legislative acts (3) is included in this Regulation for the period 1999 to 2003, without thereby affecting the powers of the budgetary authority as they are defined by the Treaty;
(21) Whereas detailed rules for implementation, and in particular the form of action, the recipients of the aid and the decision-making procedures should be laid down,