The 25th plenary meeting of the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) will take place on 16-18 April 2024 in Strasbourg. Following the adoption of the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy 2024-2029 by the Committee of Ministers in March 2024, the meeting will mainly focus on exchanges with representatives from other international organisations and Council of Europe bodies, including the Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Ana Peláez Narváez, and the Chair of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), Bertil Cottier. Representatives from ODIHR/OSCE, Saša Gavrić and Yulia Netesova, will present their work on gender equality in political and public life.
During the meeting, the members will also discuss their 2023 Annual Report on the implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2023 as well as promising practices on preventing and combating sexism, as a follow-up to the GEC’s Report on the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)1 on preventing and combating sexism.
The GEC steers the Council of Europe’s intergovernmental work in the field of gender equality. It is composed of representatives of the 46 member States. Other states and organisations, including civil society organisations, are invited as participants or observers. Established to help mainstream gender equality into all Council of Europe policies and to bridge the gap between international commitments and women’s lived realities in Europe, the GEC oversees and supports the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Strategy.
