Women’s Rights Committee: expansion and consolidation of activities

From left to right: Stéphane Valeri, President of the National Council; Céline Cottalorda, Women’s Rights Officer; Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the new Chair of the Women’s Rights Committee; Robert Gelli, State Secretary of Justice. © Government Communication Department – Michael Alesi

The Women’s Rights Committee recently presented its third annual report during its plenary meeting, which was chaired for the first time by Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and attended by representatives from Monegasque institutions, the Department of Justice, government departments and associations working to promote women’s rights.

Despite the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused some disruption to planned activities, a number of initiatives took place in 2021. A round-up of the year in figures includes:

-        16 actions on promoting gender equality and tackling violence against women;

-        34 partnerships and collaborations;

-        2 laws passed by the National Council;

-        Increased visibility with 112,958 views of the Committee’s social media posts.

At the behest of H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, Monaco also maintains a high level of vigilance on the international stage. Through its cooperation programmes on the ground and its presence in international forums, the Principality provides ongoing political and financial support for the protection and emancipation of women. In 2021, Monaco was elected to the UN Women Executive Board.

Women’s Rights Officer Céline Cottalorda gave a review of 2021, describing it as “a satisfactory year thanks to a number of steps forward, but also, going beyond words, a year which saw actions taken at the very top level of government, and an acceleration of the feminist movement.” She added: “despite these encouraging signs and the progress made, the struggle continues, particularly in efforts to stem the scourge of violence against women.”

2022: expansion and consolidation

The Committee’s plenary session also mapped out the key actions for the coming year.

2022 will be all about consolidating and expanding, with the following actions planned:

-        Ongoing efforts to raise awareness about equality, particularly among young people;

-        The establishment of a compensation fund for victims of sexual and domestic offences, including children;

-        To provide an insight into the data, 2022 will see the publication of a Monaco Statistics study on the gender pay gap.

After thanking all stakeholders and members of the Committee for their involvement, Isabelle Berro-Amadeï gave a message focused on the future, noting: “I am also very much aware of the incredible commitment shown by young people. It is more important than ever to focus our attention on these young people. They are the ones who are building a society that is seeking to be more inclusive, without sexual or gender-based discrimination.”

Further information is available on the website, from where you can also download the report:

https://dfm.mc/publications/

©Direction de la Communication/Michael Alesi