Albares claims “feminist foreign policy” on International Women’s Day

Eduardo González The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, claimed this Friday, on the occasion of International Women's Day (which is celebrated on March 8), “the feminist foreign policy” of the Government “at a transcendental moment in which rights that we believed were won are being attacked”. Albares participated in the meeting 'Women, peace and democracy', organized by the Center for Research on International Relations (CIDOB), in Barcelona, in which he warned that “if gender equality advances, peace and democracy advance”. “We are in a transcendental moment in which women's rights and conquests that we believed were won are being attacked and, therefore, we must work together to defend them”, he added during his speech. During her speech, Albares highlighted the role that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plays in the defence of women's rights through feminist foreign policy, "one of the major priorities of Spanish foreign action, present in its Foreign Action Strategy." Foreign Ministry Statement The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement on Saturday, on the occasion of March 8, in which it reaffirmed “the commitment to the Feminist Foreign Policy and to the defense of the rights of women and girls around the world.” “This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Women, Peace and Security Agenda, instruments that have contributed to the advances in gender equality in recent years. But there is still much to be done,” warned Foreign Ministry. “At an international moment in which women's rights are under attack, it is more important than ever that the international community works together to protect women and girls around the world,” it continued. “Through Feminist Cooperation, we will continue to make possible the organization and effective participation of women in decision-making spaces, equal access to health, education and employment, protection against all forms of violence and the defense of sexual and reproductive rights for all women and girls in the world,” the Ministry continued. “We will continue to support the participation of women in peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction processes, which guarantee that peace is long-lasting and sustainable. We will continue to work so that Palestinian, Syrian and Afghan women, among others, are included in the political processes that are taking place in their countries,” said the Department headed by Albares. “In addition, we will continue to promote the application of parity in leadership and decision-making positions in United Nations agencies and organizations and in other multilateral forums, from a human rights perspective. We will continue to promote within the United Nations the initiative of gender rotation in the Presidency of the General Assembly, as well as ensuring that the next candidate for the post of Secretary General is, at last, a woman," it concluded. Pedro Sánchez: “Spain has become a global benchmark for feminism” The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured this Friday that the Executive is “proudly feminist, in word and deed; out of moral conviction, without a doubt, for a question of justice and dignity in this cause, but also because it is the most intelligent thing to do”. “Spain has become a global benchmark for feminism” with the law on equal pay, the law on sexual freedom or the law on conciliation, he added at the closing of the institutional event on the occasion of International Women's Day, held at the Prado Museum in Madrid. The event was attended by the Third Vice President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; Sara Aagesen; the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska; the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría; the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu; the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez; Minister for Equality, Ana Redondo, and the Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, Óscar López. Government Declaration and Feminist Foreign Policy Last Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved an Institutional Declaration on the occasion of International Women's Day in which it recalled that this year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by 189 governments during the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in 1995 and which “continues to be the fundamental roadmap for the advancement of women's rights throughout the world”. “As the United Nations points out”, this anniversary occurs “in a context of growing insecurity, uncertainty, setbacks and accumulated crises, which generates more and more distrust in democracy and reduces civic participation”, continues the Government Declaration. “In the last year alone, 612 million women and girls experienced the brutal reality of armed conflict, which represented a worrying increase of 50 percent in just one decade,” it adds. “The aggression against Ukraine, the very serious violations of human rights in Palestine, the serious humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip, or the systematic violation of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, deprived of education, freedom and participation in public life, are some of the most painful examples of this painful reality,” the Declaration states. “In view of this, the Government of Spain wishes to show both its dismay and its solidarity with all the victims, while reiterating its commitment to both protecting and providing assistance to particularly vulnerable groups, such as migrant women and girls, and to establishing a feminist foreign policy that places women's rights within the international agenda,” it continues. AECID On the other hand, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) reaffirmed its “commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls and adolescents as a central axis of Spanish Cooperation.” It also stated that, since 2005, “Spanish Cooperation has integrated the gender approach in a transversal way in all its actions and programs,” such as the water and sanitation program, climate action initiatives and the promotion of the care economy. In the current Master Plan 2024-2027, the agency continued, “this commitment is reinforced, placing equality as a priority sector and establishing the objective that at least 60 percent of the initiatives contribute directly to equity, with a goal of progressive growth towards 85 percent.” Instituto Cervantes The Instituto Cervantes has also participated in International Women's Day by receiving, at the Caja de las Letras, an original typewritten copy of an unpublished novel by Luisa Carnés (Madrid, 1905 – Mexico, 1964), ‘La puerta cerrado’, and with the legacies of the Spanish poet Ángela Figuera (Bilbao, 1902 – Madrid, 1984) and the women's association Círculo de Orellana. Luisa Carnés was a Spanish novelist and journalist, an invisible author of the Generation of 27. At the age of eleven she started working in a hat workshop and later became a waitress in a tea room, an experience from which her most famous work, ‘Tea Rooms. Mujeres obreras’ (1934) would emerge. Her career was cut short by the Spanish Civil War and, after the defeat of the Republican side, she went into exile in Mexico, where she died prematurely. Purple Points in Embassies and Consulates For her part, the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, participated in an event organized by the Spanish Embassy in London on the occasion of March 8, in which she assured that “Spanish women, inside and outside Spain, must have the same protection” and, therefore, the Spanish embassies and consulates “are Purple Points, as are the Social Security offices.” “The protection of women victims of violence is an absolute priority, inside and outside our borders,” she added.

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