G-Blog: Feminist Foreign Policy
Welcome to “G-Blog: Feminist Foreign Policy,” a blog series that highlights noteworthy news related to gender equality and Dutch feminist policy.
Dutch Feminist Foreign Policy’s 1 Year Anniversary
May 15, 2023
On Saturday May 13th it was exactly one year since the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced its Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP); which prompts one to ask ‘what exactly did the Netherlands achieve with its new feminist policy in its first year?’ In this post we’ll take a look at the past, present and future of Dutch Feminist Foreign Policy.
According to the Dutch government, the Netherlands aims to reduce inequality and is committed to the equality of men, women and LGBTIQ+ people all over the world.
Since actions speak louder than words, Civil Society was overjoyed last year when Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs and Minister Liesje Schreinemacher for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation announced that the Netherlands would be pursuing a Feminist Foreign Policy. Finally, Civil Society and women’s organisations tireless lobby efforts for implementation were going somewhere substantive as the Netherlands joined a group of frontrunners committed to gender equality internationally. This includes countries such as Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Canada, Mexico and Chile.
Feminist Foreign Policy
Feminist Foreign Policy commits to protecting human rights and promoting meaningful participation in decision-making by women and LGBTIQ+ people. With the choice of FFP such issues become central to all aspects of a country’s foreign policy. The focuses of FFP are rights, representation, resources and reality check:
- Women all over the world must be able to claim their universal rights and know that they are safeguarded from violence (rights);
- they must be represented and take part in political decisions (representation);
- there must be sufficient resources to achieve these goals (resources);
- circumstances differ around the world, and a particular approach will not have the same effect everywhere (reality check).
FFP Activities
In the past year several activities centered around FFP have taken place. Last summer, for example, the Dutch government organized the Ukraine Accountability Conference. Within the framework of FFP, combating gender-based sexual violence in conflict was a key theme during this conference.
Moreover, during COP27 (autumn 2022) a gender expert was part of the Dutch delegation for the first time. The expert had the important task of better integrating gender into the Dutch positions during the negotiations. At an event on FFP, Minister Liesje Schreinemacher also emphasized the crucial role of female leadership in climate action and the importance of funding for organizations led by women.
Minister Schreinemacher acted within the framework of FFP again during International Women’s Day (May 8, 2023) when she spoke with the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board about the disastrous earthquakes and the political situation in Syria. She emphasized how important the participation of Syrian women is in the peace process and assured the advisory body of continued Dutch support. On the same day, Minister Hoekstra signed a joint statement on behalf of the Netherlands to draw attention to the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
FFP Handbook
Aside from these and other events, the Dutch Foreign Ministry continues to engage in online and offline consultation sessions with ministry employees, Dutch representatives, and various partners to help think about the focus on FFP. Based on these consultations new chapters continue to be planned and written in the ‘Dutch FFP handbook’ as the foreign ministry works towards improving and concretizing its fledgling Feminist Foreign Policy.
Examples of future FFP plans based on these consultations include the publication of an actual handbook meant for ministry employees on the application of FFP. The handbook is expected to be published this summer 2023. The new toolkit 'Equal rights, equal opportunities for LGBTQ+ persons' will also be issued, which is intended for Dutch embassies and consulates.
In autumn 2023, the Netherlands will also organize an international conference on Feminist Foreign Policy aiming to contribute to broadening knowledge and promoting the conversation about FFP on an international scale. This is especially significant since only 16 countries in the world currently have a Feminist Foreign Policy.
Improvement from Civil Society’s eye
Gender Concerns International highly values the Dutch government’s decision made one year ago to adopt a Feminist Foreign Policy. The need to focus strongly on gender equality in foreign policy has always been the focus of organization’s work.
It is our belief that the broader involvement of Civil Society and especially women’s organisations is a key determinant to the success of the FFP goals. Currently, consultation sessions, prospective handbooks and funding are mostly limited to ministry employees, government institutions (e.g. embassies) and/or a select group of partner organisations.
Want to read more about the highlights of Dutch FFP this last year: click here
Want to read more about Gender Concerns’ work on FFP: click here
IWD Webinar: Discussion on Feminist Foreign Policy & Feminist National Policy
March 8, 2023
In commemoration of International Women’s Day 2023, Gender Concerns International held a webinar discussion on the impact of (Dutch) Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) and the need for a Feminist Nationalist Policy (FNP).The team members highlighted the notable and recent developments related to this topic as well as strategically discussed suggestions for improving and ensuring a successful realization of FFP for this year and years to come.
Since FFP aims to critique the current gender unequal world system and seeks to achieve a shift in the balance of power at all levels, key questions and remarks were posed by team members on individual, institutional, national, and interstate levels, such as:
1. Shouldn’t existing issues be tackled from an individual level?
- By focusing on the individual level in sectors such as education, which unlike the defense sector are not necessarily male-dominated.
2. Gender Concerns International needs to strategically consider which processes can be tackled more quickly than others.
- On a national-institutional level (e.g. ministries) it is arguably easier to influence positive change compared to on an individual level (e.g. education).
3. Still, for a successful FFP there needs to be a more coherent approach to the entire system of foreign and national relations, with particular attention for oftentimes male-dominated sectors (e.g. defense and trade policy).
4. On a national level we must work towards facilitating a stronger dialogue amongst women’s organizations (WOs) and, in turn, between WOs, government ministries, and policymakers.
- Eye for local lived realities: Women from conflict areas, including refugee and diaspora women living in the Netherlands, must regularly be given the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution.
5. We need to consider the direct and indirect impact of Dutch trade/peace agreements on the women’s rights and gender equality in the Netherlands, the partner country and beyond.
- For example, what indirect effect does the Dutch trade with Saudi Arabia have on women in Yemen? Or how do our activities in Africa relate to the land rights of local female farmers?
- For example, when dealing with certain countries with a poorer women’s rights track record, the Netherlands may opt for sending more male-dominated staff.
6. We need to be critical of how FFP tackles relations with certain governments like the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Together with Director Ms. Bano, each team member greatly contributed to the discussion reassuring commitment to the vision and mission of the organization.
Going forward the team is motivated to remain focused and ambitious to support local communities and women’s organizations and to pledge again its commitment to question, refine, and apply the frameworks which are Feminist Foreign Policy and Feminist National Policy.
Gender Concerns International: Feminist Foreign Policy & the Rs
March 5, 2023
Respect, Recognition and Resources (Three Rs) for women and their organisations have been the three principles guiding the work of Gender Concerns International since its formation in January 2004. We are pleased to have played an integral role in developing the four core principles of Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) and are proud to have influenced FFP’s journey from Sweden to the Netherlands. Going forward, we hope to remain a key participant in the national and international development of this necessary feminist policy.
Feminist Foreign Policy is a roadmap based on protecting human rights and one which commits to promoting meaningful participation in decision-making by women, LGBTI+ people and other marginalized groups in all their diversity. At the launch of Dutch Feminist Foreign Policy (May, 2022), the government stated that it would test all foreign policy against four principles, which had been designed in close collaboration with organisations such as Gender Concerns International. The principles are rights, representation, resources and reality check:
- Women all over the world must be able to claim their universal rights and know that they are safeguarded from violence (rights);
- they must be represented and take part in political decisions (representation);
- there must be sufficient resources to achieve these goals (resources);
- circumstances differ around the world, and a particular approach will not have the same effect everywhere. Therefore, it is essential that the ministry regularly checks whether their policy, from trade agreements to humanitarian assistance, does not have unexpected negative consequences for women and minorities (reality check).
G-Blog: Feminist Foreign Policy Launch!
March 5, 2023
Gender Concerns International proudly presents a new blog dedicated to the developments surrounding Dutch Feminist Foreign Policy.
The G-Blog: Feminist Foreign Policy examines the relationship between the advancement of women's rights and representation & Dutch policy interests on various levels (local, national, international) and across various ministerial sectors (e.g. Foreign affairs, Trade, and Defence).