The European Council and Commission should include in future trade and development agreements a specific clause that provides for the application of sanctions and, if need be, the suspension of the accord in the case of serious and recurrent violations of women’s rights, such as genital mutilation, mutilation with acid, corporal punishment inflicted in public, immolation, stoning, rape, traffic in women, crimes of honour, forced marriage and slavery. The appeal urging the EU’s intervention for the protection of the rights of women in international relations is made by the European Parliament’s Commission for women’s rights, which examined the issue during the EP’s plenary session (20-23 October). Since 1992 the Union has included a clause in all its agreements with third countries that sanctions the respect for human rights and democracy. MEPs emphasize the need for a more radical and incisive action to combat violence against women, also recalling the EP’s previous measure to include, in the relevant budgetary appropriations, a clause according to which failure to prevent serious violations against women would constitute a reason for suspending EU aid. The Commission is therefore invited to define favourable or unfavourable commercial clauses for partner countries depending on their level of combating violence against women.
