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annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) polarised public, media and political

attention around this topic.

25. The CSW57 has brought about remarkable progress, at several levels. First of all, it has been a great

success that final conclusions could be agreed upon (this had not always been the case in the past). Secondly,

these final conclusions are strong:

they place emphasis on prevention, and on education as an empowering factor;

they call on the responsibility of men and boys;

they recognise women’s sexual and reproductive rights;

they call for an end to the impunity of perpetrators;

they make it clear that religion, culture and tradition cannot be used to excuse violations of the human

rights of women and girls.

26. During the negotiations, no agreement could be found on several important issues. Some key concepts

are therefore missing from the Conclusions. They are:

“sexual orientation and gender identity”: due to the opposition of some United Nations member States

and Observers, there is no mention of the multiple discrimination and specific situation experienced by lesbian,

gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) women;

“intimate partner relations”: there is no recognition of the fact that intimate partner violence may occur

outside marriage.

27. Lobbying, pressure and efforts to ensure that these concepts are acknowledged at United Nations level

should continue. Despite its limitations, my personal assessment of the CSW57 Final Conclusions remains very

positive. We should not focus on what the CSW57 has not achieved, but on what it has achieved, and this is

outstanding. In this regard, I should mention the role played at national as well as international level by civil

society and NGOs, which has been crucial for gathering the necessary political backing for the Conclusions.

28. The CSW57 has not only been important in itself; it has also given decisive impetus to legal and policy

change at national level. Responding to the appeal by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on “A

Promise is a Promise” and the initiative “COMMIT to end violence against women”, States from all over the

world have committed to strengthening their action in this area.

29. Amongst them, are 25 Council of Europe member States. Many of them have declared their

commitment to ratifying and implementing the Istanbul Convention. Other frequent pledges include

strengthening activities in the area of data collection, awareness-raising, access to justice, availability of

shelters and assistance measures for victims. I welcome these commitments, which focus on what I consider

priority areas. I look forward to them being translated into concrete action.

30. Indeed, the general atmosphere gives reasons to be optimistic: in Europe, the interaction between the

pressure created by the CSW57 and the debate over the signature and ratification of the Istanbul Convention

have led to fresh dynamism. This is clear from the increased attention that politicians are devoting to violence

against women, the number of NGO and civil society initiatives – including the collection of signatures and

petitions in support of new legislation –, and the visibility that it has had in the media.

31. Some major newspapers and television channels such as The Guardian, El País, Il Corriere della Sera,

BBC and Rai are now reporting on violence against women and intimate partner violence on a regular basis. In

doing so, they no longer describe it as a succession of punctual and isolated episodes, but as a major social

problem which needs to be tackled. I am pleased about this development: the media is an indispensable ally for

awareness raising among the general public, which in its turn is crucial to changing people’s mindsets.

32. I like to think that, also thanks to the CSW57, 2013 will not only been a turning point but a point of no

return in the elimination of violence against women, especially in Europe.