The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, having convened in Montréal on the 23rd of September 2018, declare:
Our two countries are firmly committed to gender equality. Our governments are working to carry out the actions necessary to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development concerning the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women, girls, and gender diverse peoples by means of the specific goal SDG 5, and through the inclusion of a gender equality perspective in all of the other SDGs.
As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we insist on the need for women and girls to have full access to their human rights. Ensuring women and girls have equal rights leads to the social and economic development of any country. Equality between women and men is a universal legal principle recognized in multiple international texts on human rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, to which Canada has been party since 1981, and Spain since 1984) as well as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The battle against gender-based discrimination is also a priority in our respective foreign policy guidelines. We commit to continue actively participating in multilateral fora, particularly in the United Nations and the Human Rights Council, while supporting the work of the Special Rapporteurs, promoting Resolutions, and engaging in dialogues on gender equality. We will promote the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Our international action must also prioritize combatting sexual violence. We are personally committed to supporting the work of the Secretary General of the United Nations as members of the Circle of Leadership on the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations operations. Canada and Spain recognize that the United Nations and Member States must work together to address this issue, whose continued occurrence undermines the credibility, effectiveness, and legitimacy of UN operations..
Both of our governments are deeply conscious of persisting grave inequalities based on gender. We therefore establish the following priorities:
WE PLEDGE to work to eradicate all forms of gender-based violence.
WE REAFFIRM that our work to promote gender equality and inclusion, and to eradicate gender-based violence, forms an integral part of government policy. It shapes our respective positions on the international stage, both globally and regionally and informs our priorities in international development cooperation.
WE ENDORSE the principles of the Charlevoix Declaration on Quality Education for Girls, Adolescent Girls, and Women in Developing Countries and affirm our commitment to support developing country partners in their efforts to provide equal opportunities for girls and women to complete at least 12 years of free, safe and quality education from their early years through to secondary school. We will support actions to make schools and education institutions safe and welcoming for girls and women, including through investments in secure schools. We will also encourage increased access to quality post-secondary education, foster innovative delivery mechanisms and promote lifelong learning opportunities to help prepare women and girls for the jobs of the future.
WE SHALL FOSTER women’s and girls’ presence and empowerment in decision-making forums in all spheres: (political, social, cultural and economic), through public policies and institutional collaboration in the public and private sectors, promoting the role and participation of women’s rights organization.
WE SHALL SUPPORT women’s and adolescents’ decision-making on their health and well-being, including by promoting access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services and rights as a precondition to promote gender equality and the realization of the human rights of all women and girls.
WE SHALL PROMOTE government actions that reduce gender gaps including by recognizing, valuing, supporting and redistributing unpaid care and domestic work in order to combat the feminization of poverty, and support women’s and girls’ full economic participation and empowerment in all sectors.
WE SHALL ENCOURAGE the education, training and presence of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by coordinating actions that give visibility to women who are role models for younger generations, and by supporting women’s networks in the private sector and the technological projects developed by them.
WE SHALL REDOUBLE our efforts to reduce the digital divide in order to increase the participation of women and raise their profile in the world of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, as well as to prevent and combat discriminatory attitudes and sexual and gender-based violence, abuse and harassment in digital contexts.
WE SHALL CONTINUE to champion the Women, Peace and Security Agenda as a means to promote the effective participation of women in all stages of conflicts.
WE REITERATE our firm commitment to mitigating the inequalities faced by displaced, refugee and migrant women and girls. They are in particularly vulnerable situations, and susceptible to suffering multiple forms of discrimination on the grounds of sex, ethnicity, religion, culture and displacement.
WE STATE our firm support for women living in rural environments. They play a key role in guaranteeing the sustainable development of our peoples and our societies, yet face barriers to their empowerment and livelihoods.
Both governments consider it a priority to continue to actively participate in international forums, cooperating together and with other governments to foster gender equality, and state our firm commitment to continue making gender equality real and effective in all sectors of society.