1 Introduction and summary

1.1 Introduction

Women’s rights and gender equality are among the most important priorities of the Government’s international development policy as set out in its policy platform of 13 October 2005. In the Government’s view, women’s participation and women’s rights are of paramount importance if we are to realise the vision for the world’s future enshrined in the UN Millennium Declaration. At the halfway mark between 2000 and 2015, we must acknowledge that the UN Millennium Development Goals on poverty eradication will not be achieved unless women are put centre stage.

With this white paper, the Government is inviting the Storting to engage in a broad debate on the overriding, long-term political guidelines for promoting women’s rights and gender equality through Norway’s international development policy. The purpose is to focus attention on and enhance understanding of women’s rights both as aims in themselves and as necessary prerequisites for achieving other development policy objectives.

This white paper is the first of its kind to be drawn up in Norway. Moreover, no like-minded country has produced a comparable white paper. The purpose of this document is not to examine all the aspects of women’s rights and gender equality in international development policy in detail, but to focus on the overall picture in a political perspective.

The white paper begins with a general account of the situation as regards women’s rights and gender equality, followed by a brief analysis and the Government’s proposals for the political action that should be taken by Norway.

When working on this white paper, and particularly on the action plans on which it is based, we have maintained close dialogue with relevant organisations and institutions in Norway. We have received important input from a number of different actors in Norwegian society, including NGOs and research institutions.

Although Norwegian international development policy has also previously had a strong focus on women’s rights and gender equality, in practice this field has not been given the necessary priority over time. Failure to follow up women’s and gender equality issues is one of the great sins of omission in both Norwegian and international development policy. This is changing now. The Government’s aim is that Norway should be a fearless champion of women’s rights and gender equality. However, although the main focus of this white paper is on women, our policy must also mobilise boys and men. The white paper also discusses Norwegian development policy measures designed to help other groups that are disadvantaged in terms of equal rights. Efforts will also be made to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, which affects homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals. This will involve broad, clearly targeted measures in sensitive areas. Norway will speak out where others find it easiest to remain silent; we will act where others find it easiest to do nothing.

Although there is still a great deal to be done, the status and role of women in Norwegian society is one of the hallmarks of our country. It is the result of decades of efforts to promote gender equality in which cooperation between equality-conscious individuals and groups in politics, government, the women’s movement and research institutions has played an important role. Norway’s gender equality efforts have considerable international credibility. This is an area where we have a good reputation and a high level of expertise. Moreover, the Norwegian model and the experience we have gained are relevant for others who are seeking to deal with these issues. Gender equality is an area where Norway is listened to. We must take advantage of this.

We will speak out boldly and clearly, even on the most sensitive issues. But sometimes we need to speak softly. This important cause must be promoted with consideration and prudence. Promoting gender equality is a long process, and we must address the challenges with humility. We must hasten slowly. In many countries, abortion and sexual minority rights are particularly controversial. We are challenging powerful cultural and religious forces. Thus, even though we feel we have found a good model for gender equality, it cannot be exported across the board. Norway is a small, highly developed, homogeneous and consensus-oriented society, and is in that sense very different from many other countries, particularly some developing countries. The relationship between the sexes is a fundamental aspect of the social structure and power relations in any country. The challenges and appropriate tools will thus vary from country to country. We must take this into account in our development policy.

In accordance with universal human rights, we have a right and an obligation to intensify our efforts to promote women’s rights. The rights of sexual minorities and those concerning sexuality are more controversial, but there too, we feel that we are on firm ground. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted as early as 1948. Since then the UN has developed a number of internationally binding human rights conventions. The majority of countries have, for example, committed themselves to promoting women’s rights and gender equality by acceding to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Thus, by attaching more importance to this theme in our political dialogue and in our development cooperation, we are in fact taking their decisions seriously. We urge them to fulfil their obligations and offer them our assistance in achieving their objectives.

Our insistence on the importance of women’s rights and gender equality is founded on a scientific basis and a body of international agreements. However, this must not prevent us from taking a critical approach to these issues – including their development cooperation implications. We use our position as a prosperous country to promote a view on gender roles and values that is perceived as alien in many countries. It is valid to question whether this conflicts with the culturally sensitive approach usually taken by Norway in international development policy. Is this compatible with our usual approach to development cooperation, which is that the countries themselves should, as far as possible, have ownership of the development processes and priorities? This poses a fundamental dilemma, which we must be aware of and which merits the Storting’s attention.

1.1.1 Without women, no development

In the statistics on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, women as a group lag far behind men. The situation is complex, and there is considerable variation between countries and regions, but women are an important target group for Norwegian development policy in all the countries we are operating in. If the world is to succeed in reaching the Millennium Development Goals, we must target our efforts directly at women. We must help to ensure that women are empowered and enabled to take their rightful place in development processes on equal terms with men. All experience shows that development is dependent on women’s resources and expertise being fully utilised.

International development policy and development assistance are not solely a matter of international solidarity or altruism. In this age of globalisation, the links between living conditions in developing countries and in the rich part of the world are evident. We must reap the benefits offered by globalisation – for example as regards migration, development policy, democracy and energy security – and manage the risks it entails, such as human trafficking, the spread of HIV and AIDS, conflict and climate change. This means that when we give priority to these areas in our international development policy, we are dealing with matters that also concern us directly. Development is inextricably linked to stability, security and environmental sustainability – at local, national and global levels.

Given such a world view, it is also in donors’ interests to engage in development cooperation. In the Government’s view, for Norway this is a matter of enlightened self-interest that does not conflict with developing countries’ own interests.

1.1.2 A coherent new approach

Up until now, Norwegian policy aimed at integrating women’s rights and gender equality into development cooperation has been very ambitious, but its implementation has not, unfortunately, been systematic enough. Norway can point to many important, good results at measure level, but only to a limited degree have we brought about any fundamental change.

The Government is doing something about this now. We are implementing a number of concrete measures based on our national and international experience. The aim is to develop a coherent international development policy in which women’s rights and gender equality are mainstreamed in all development cooperation. The Norwegian Government has developed four actions plans that are currently being implemented in our development cooperation efforts to strengthen women’s rights and gender equality at the global level. These action plans deal with the following:

• women’s rights and gender equality in development cooperation (2007–2009)

• UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, adopted in 2000 (action plan launched in 2006)

• human trafficking (2006–2009)

• female genital mutilation (2003–2010)

These four action plans are important tools to be used in Norway’s efforts to promote gender equality and safeguard women’s rights in accordance with international human rights conventions. Additional funds have been allocated for intensifying these efforts. After a short period of time, we are already well underway.

1.2 The Government’s view

The Government will pursue an international development policy that promotes equal rights and opportunities for women and men. This means pursuing a proactive policy based on the following principles:

• Women and men are to participate on equal terms in political processes.

• Women and men are to participate on equal terms in economic processes

• Women and men are to have equal access to education

• Women have a right to adequate health services and to control their own bodies and sexuality

• Women have a right to a life free of violence

• Women are to have an equal role in peace and reconciliation efforts

• Women and men are to participate on equal terms in efforts to combat climate change, environmental degradation and humanitarian crises

At the same time, Norwegian policy for promoting women’s rights and gender equality must not be confined to the seven principles set out above, but must be reflected in all aspects of Norwegian international development policy. The Action Plan for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Development Cooperation 2007–2009 goes a long way in translating this into practical terms. The Government also states that the aim is to see a steady increase in the percentage of development funding that is allocated to women’s rights and gender equality efforts. This aim will be achieved by making use of the full range of grant schemes. Administrative routines must be established to ensure that the objectives are achieved.

Norway will seek to promote greater recognition and realisation of women’s rights. This means helping to ensure that women have economic opportunities, an opportunity to influence social development and, not least, control over their own lives. Norway will promote women’s rights and opportunities to participate on equal terms in national and local government. And we will seek to foster women’s legal, economic and social independence.

Norway will promote decent work for both women and men. This entails employment where labour rights are respected and where there is dialogue between the social partners and schemes that protect employees in the event of illness, old age or disability.

Our policy is to promote the redistribution of power, resources and care responsibilities between men and women. This requires that we target our efforts at both sexes. In order to fully utilise women’s resources to effect change, we must also focus on women’s own efforts to organise and mobilise. At the same time we must support and encourage our cooperation partners at government level in order to achieve national development goals in this area and fulfil obligations in accordance with human rights instruments and international action plans for promoting women’s rights and gender equality.

Norway’s new policy must also seek to mobilise boys and men. In most countries, boys and men dominate in the areas where women are discriminated against. This means that our policy must be designed to encourage men to loosen their grip and give women an opportunity to participate fully in economic, political and social processes. On the other hand, men must not be regarded solely as impediments and barriers to women’s development. Men can play an important role in efforts to promote women’s rights. Boys and men must be mobilised as allies. This can best be done by showing that men, too, benefit from a more egalitarian society. Women are motors of development, which also benefits men. When rigid gender patterns become more flexible, men also gain greater freedom to make individual choices.

Norway will be a fearless champion of women’s sexual and reproductive rights. This is a matter of women’s right to control over their own bodies and to freedom from violence and sexual abuse both in and outside the family. It is also a matter of making information on sexuality and birth control available to teenagers and adult women and men. We will make a concerted effort to combat all forms of discrimination and stigmatisation on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Norway will spearhead these issues even where they are not generally recognised or considered accepted.

Our policy must take into account that girls’ needs and the challenges facing them change during the course of their lives. Our policy must therefore have a life-cycle perspective. Gender patterns are established early in life. Efforts to raise both boys’ and girls’ awareness of their rights and of the principles of non-discrimination and inclusion must start when they are young. National and regional differences must also be taken into account. We must not be tempted to believe that the world is divided into two parts – the rich countries that have achieved gender equality and the poor countries that have not. This is not the case. Some poor countries score very high on gender equality, whereas certain rich countries score low. Our policy must be flexible enough to be applicable to a broad variety of situations.

For far too long, multilateral organisations have failed to take women’s rights and gender equality seriously. Norway has been advocating the establishment of a strong women’s rights entity in the UN as part of the reform process. The UN needs a strong internal advocate to ensure that it is able to deliver on gender equality. Norway will work through a range of actors, including representatives of civil society, all of whom must demonstrate that they possess the practical expertise required to deal with gender equality, international development policy and development assistance.

Norway’s international development policy is conveyed and implemented through political dialogue, transfer of expertise and economic support. The main policy lines remain unchanged, but the priority given to women’s rights and gender equality is to be evident in all aspects of our development policy engagement. Efforts to promote women’s rights and gender equality must not be an appendage or add-on to our other efforts, but must be mainstreamed in everything we do. We must abandon the traditional idea that the fight for women’s rights is confined to social sectors. On the contrary, this fight must be an integral part of Norway’s efforts in key policy areas such as democracy and human rights, the fight against corruption, environmental sustainability and our Oil for Development initiative. We will insist that our cooperation partners, whether they are governments, international institutions or NGOs, take issues related to women’s rights and gender equality seriously.