” “"Gender equality is an integral part of human rights in any democratic society; inequality brings substantial and economically damaging consequences". The Council of Europe too reflects on equal rights and the problem of discrimination, as the 25-country EU is doing in the run-up to 2007, decreed as the "European Year of Equal Opportunities for Everyone". In particular, the economic costs of "persistent gender inequality" will be the subject of a ministerial conference organised by the CoE in Stockholm on June 8th and 9th. The conference explains a note from the Strasbourg-based organisation "will place emphasis on how impossible it is for Europe to tackle the challenges that come up every day" in this sphere, "without implementing governmental policies and measures to eliminate gender inequalities". Speakers will include: Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe; Jens Orback, Swedish Minister for Integration and Equal Opportunities; Regina Tavares Da Silva, president of the CoE expert team on gender equality regulations and mechanisms. At the end of the conference, the ministers of the 46 member states will be asked to adopt a resolution named "Accomplishment of equal opportunities between men and women: a challenge for human rights and a prerequisite of economic development".” “
