UN Human Rights Council 
59^th  Session – Item 3
Resolution L.24 – General Comment

Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and its consequences
 

EU General Comment

Mister President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU Member States that are members of the Human Rights Council. This general comment has been agreed by the EU as a whole. 

The EU thanks Canada for presenting this resolution and for leading on this file. We welcome the renewal of the  mandate of the special rapporteur. The EU is committed to prevention and elimination all forms of violence against all women and girls. We are deeply concerned at the continued prevalence of violence against all women and girls, in all its different forms and manifestations worldwide. We emphasize that violence against women and girls violates, abuses and impairs their human rights and, as such, is completely unacceptable. 

We welcome the resolution’s focus on prevention as a crucial step toward eliminating all forms of violence against all women and girls. Institutional and structural discrimination—including entrenched patriarchal systems, harmful gender norms, economic inequalities, and systemic racism—perpetuate unequal power dynamics and undermine women’s dignity and bodily autonomy. Addressing these root causes is essential to significantly reduce gender-based violence, achieve sustainable declines, and break cycles of abuse for future generations.

We recognize the vital importance of the objectives set forth in this resolution and support its adoption. The presented amendments would constitute a step backwards on the advances made over the past 30 years regarding the human rights of women and girls. We will therefore vote no to the presented amendments to the text, and call upon the other Council Members to do the same. 

Full Council support for this resolution, as presented by Canada today, will send the unified message that this Human Rights Council is ready to take a strong stand against all forms of violence against all women and girls. 

Thank you.