Spain hosts the 5th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy this week

Eduardo González Madrid will host the 5th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy on June 2nd and 3rd, a high-level global event following previous editions held in Germany in 2022, the Netherlands in 2023, Mexico in 2024, and France in 2025. The Conference will be held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca, Madrid, and will be preceded, this Monday, June 1st, by a civil society forum whose results will be incorporated into the official Conference program. According to a press release from the Ministry, the meeting will be dedicated to feminist foreign policy, women's rights, and gender equality, “not only as priorities in themselves, but also as fundamental principles and pillars for advancing global peace and strengthening democracy.” The Conference will mobilize more than 700 people, including foreign ministers, representatives of international organizations, philanthropic organizations, civil society, and feminist movements, “around a common goal: the promotion of equality, freedom, and dignity for women and girls worldwide, as an essential foundation for peace, justice, and democracy,” she continued. Under the theme “Building Peace and Democracy,” the Conference is envisioned as “an opportunity to consolidate a diverse coalition of states committed to gender equality and sustainable development, and also as a space to raise awareness about the adoption of a feminist foreign policy, in an international context marked by conflicts, democratic backsliding, and increasing inequalities.” Furthermore, this conference seeks to “foster concrete political commitments, share best practices, and promote innovative and transformative initiatives.” The conference will explore how supporting women's rights and leadership can help uphold the rule of law and a rules-based international order, “fostering responsible multilateralism that responds to current challenges and a full commitment to human rights, peace, and social, environmental, economic, and gender justice, including the right to sustainable development.” To this end, the meeting will consist of four plenary sessions and a high-level dialogue. On Tuesday, topics will include “Peace and Democracy in the Face of 21st-Century Challenges: Feminist Foreign Policy,” “Financing Equality: Priorities for Feminist Cooperation and Inclusive and Sustainable Development,” and “Achieving Substantive Equality and Parity: Feminist Leadership and Political Action for Gender Equality in Foreign Policy and Multilateralism.” On Wednesday, the plenary sessions "Towards a More Inclusive Multilateralism: Proposals from Feminist Foreign Action" and "From Sweden to Spain: Progress, Setbacks, and the Way Forward for a Feminist Foreign Policy" will be held, along with several parallel events on "The Care Society as a New Paradigm for Sustainable Development," sexual and reproductive health and rights, "Mediation in Times of Crisis," gender apartheid: women's leadership, and "Women, Peace, and Security in Feminist Foreign Policy," among others. The conference will conclude with the presentation of a Civil Society Declaration and a Political Declaration of the 5th Feminist Foreign Policy Conference. National Plan The organization of this fifth Feminist Foreign Policy Conference in Spain was announced last October in Paris by Albares during the opening of the fourth Conference on Feminist Diplomacy, organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his address at that event, the minister stated that Feminist Foreign Policy “is today one of the priority pillars of our country’s international projection, recognized in our 2025-2028 Foreign Action Strategy.” On March 2nd, Albares himself publicly presented the third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2025-2030), whose approval by the Council of Ministers (in December 2025) coincided with the launch of the new Feminist Cooperation Strategy of the Spanish Cooperation Agency. Spain had previously adopted two national action plans on Women, Peace and Security, in 2007 and 2017. The first was approved in November 2007 by the government of the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, within the framework of a foreign policy based on the defense of international peace and security and the fight against gender discrimination. The second plan, for the period 2017-2023, was implemented by the government of Mariano Rajoy, of the People's Party, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda (“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world”). Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a Spanish Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy 2023-2026 that advocates a “preventive diplomacy” approach and includes, among other objectives, ensuring the full participation of women in the processes of conflict prevention, mediation and resolution, in line with UN resolution 2242 (2015) on “Women, Peace and Security”, adopted during the Spanish presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

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