Council of Europe

The EU/International Gender and Diversity Team works to the UK’s  gender and equality related commitments within the Council of Europe (CoE). The CoE promotes human rights, democracy and the rule of law through a combination of standard setting, monitoring, and awareness-raising. The CoE’s work on gender includes promoting European co-operation to achieve real equality between the sexes, and addressing a range of themes on gender equality including: violence against women, gender mainstreaming, balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making, trafficking in human beings, conflict prevention and peace building and men and gender equality.

The EU/International Team engages with the CoE’s gender-related work through its participation in the Steering Committee on Equality between Men and Women (CEDG). This Committee meets twice a year and informs the work of the Council of Ministers in areas such as violence against women, political representation and tackling the pay gap. The EU/International Team also leads on delivering Council of Europe gender equality priorities through the dissemination across Government of key messages and reports, and through the analysis of emerging text to assess the implications for the UK within resolutions and dossiers.