Statement by Minister Monsef on building a more gender-responsive humanitarian system

April 13, 2019 - Washington, D.C. - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, today released the following statement in follow-up to a discussion held on the occasion of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group:

“The international humanitarian system is still not meeting the needs of everyone. Progress has been made, but more needs to be done to systematically take the needs and expertise of women and girls into account.

“Adopting a gender-responsive approach to humanitarian assistance, where women and girls are meaningfully involved, does not just ensure a better response to the needs of women and girls—it also strengthens our entire humanitarian response.

“Canada has championed gender-responsive humanitarian action, as demonstrated during last year’s G7 Whistler Declaration on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in Humanitarian Action.

“Today, Canada has taken a step to further advance on commitments we made under the Feminist International Assistance Policy by launching a new guiding document for our humanitarian assistance, entitled A Feminist Approach: Gender Equality in Humanitarian Action.

“Through this guiding document, Canada will be taking actions to increase the gender-responsiveness of its humanitarian action, such as promoting humanitarian principles and respect for international humanitarian law.  Canada will also support prevention, mitigation and response strategies for sexual and gender-based violence and will support the provision of the full range of sexual and reproductive health services during humanitarian responses.

“We know that women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises and are often the primary targets of conflict. We also know that women and girls are powerful agents of change, yet their voices and interests are too often ignored. Canada will support women and girls’ empowerment and will work to ensure that they are heard and their leadership is taken into account in every step of the way.”