[Title] Declaration on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

Biarritz Partnership on Gender Equality

1. We, Leaders, recognize that gender equality is fundamental to full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and the achievement of sustainable development and peace. We welcome the Paris Declaration on Gender Equality adopted by Ministers for Gender Equality of the G7 in May 2019. We were briefed by representatives from the Gender Equality Advisory Council. We underline the importance of meaningful consultation with the civil society at large to address good practices of new and innovative laws for gender equality.

2. We recognize that effective implementation and enforcement of laws promoting gender equality can be a powerful force for the empowerment of women and girls, and we encourage appropriate monitoring of these laws, to ensure that they are non- discriminatory. We also reaffirm our commitment to preventing and responding to all forms of gender-based violence. The Biarritz Partnership Annex is a first expression of our priorities.

3. We also intend to advocate for the promotion of gender equality, in order to create a global coalition committed to the full empowerment of girls and women around the world. In that regard, we express our deepest concern that too many women and girls around the world are affected by discriminatory laws and the lack of legal protection. Aside from our domestic commitments, we stand ready to support interested countries through our different expertise and development mechanisms to adopt, implement and monitor laws that remedy this and advance gender equality. The support of the G7 to these countries will be monitored by the existing G7 Accountability Working Group.

4. We welcome the organization of the Generation Equality Forum celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in Mexico and in Paris in 2020, and the meeting in that context of the Members of the Biarritz Partnership, which we hope will serve as an important milestone for advancing gender equality across the world.

Supporting Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

5. We acknowledge the Dinard Declaration on Women, Peace and Security adopted by the G7 Foreign Affairs Ministers and its appeal to the international community to take action in order to better prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence. We further urge the international community to enable the full, effective and meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention, peace processes, relief and recovery.

6. We will continue to support efforts to promptly respond to ongoing cases of victims' specific medical, psychological and social needs while making those responsible accountable. We encourage efforts such as those by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mrs Nadia Murad and Dr Denis Mukwege to create a voluntary International Fund for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. We look forward to the Global Conference "Time for Justice: Putting Survivors First" in November in London that will be an opportunity to further mobilize support for the fund.

Girls' and Women's Education and Training

7. We welcome the joint communiqué of the G7 Ministers of Education and International Development on tackling inequality in developing countries through gender-responsive education and quality technical and vocational education and training. We are convinced that equal access to quality education is vital to achieve the empowerment and equal opportunity of girls and women, especially in developing contexts and countries struggling with conflict. Thus, we welcome approaches to address the barriers girls face and to achieve gender equality and, in particular, the Gender at the Centre Initiative. In that context, we underline our commitment to increase opportunities for at least 12 years of safe and quality education for all, particularly in emergencies and in conflict-affected and fragile states. We support eliminating gender inequality and discrimination, and countering gender biases and stereotypes and endeavor to work together with developing countries to promote inclusion, equity and access of girls and women to quality education, including access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).