“The growing oppression globally on women and girls and attacks on their human rights are alarming. We stand by women in Iran, whose freedoms are systematically restricted; and those in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are trying to erase women and girls’ presence from public space, as well as everywhere else in the world where women’s fundamental rights and freedoms are being threatened or denied.

"We are also deeply concerned about the reports that Russian Armed Forces use sexual violence against women and children in Ukraine as a weapon of war. These actions constitute war crimes and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. We will continue to work with our international partners to make Russia pay for these atrocities.

"To strengthen global accountability, the EU has just adopted a package of sanctions against perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence.

"There is also good news. The EU has taken landmark decisions to ensure that women in the EU have the same opportunities as men. For instance, with the new EU rules on gender balance on corporate boards or pay transparency. We also want to set EU-wide rules to combat violence against women and domestic violence.”

The full statement is available online.

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