A multi-level endeavour
The EWL has consultative status at the Council of Europe and the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council, and participates regularly in the activities of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Recently, the EWL, as European coordinator for the GEAR Campaign, was instrumental in the setting up of the new UN Women entity.
The EWL closely monitors the implementation by the EU member states of international agreements, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979, and the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). In 2010, the EWL released its third report on the implementation of the BPfA by its EU signatories, in the 12 areas covered by the action plan: From Beijing to Brussels: An Unfinished Journey. The EWL was also been involved in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006).
In addition, the EWL regularly liases with the UN Special Representatives as appropriate, and is particularly active on issues relating to the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, working to ensure that gender equality concerns are integrated in security and defence policies.
At the level of the Council of Europe, the EWL has been closely involved in the negotiations of a European Convention on Violence against Women, adopted in May 2011.
