The Vatican has blocked discussions over women’s rights at the UN climate summit following a row over gay and transgender issues, sources have told BBC News.
Pope Francis’ representatives have aligned with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Egypt to obstruct a deal which would have provided more support, including financial help, for women at the forefront of climate change, Colombia’s environment minister told the BBC.
Charities including ActionAid said it is crucial a deal is reached as the UN estimates women and girls currently make up 80% of those displaced by climate change.
Countries at this year’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan were due to update the ten-year old UN action plan to make sure that any work on climate change took account of the experiences of women and channelled more money to them.
For a decade it has been called the Lima Work Programme on Gender.
But the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Egypt now do not want any reference to “gender” – over concerns it could include transgender women, and want references to gay woman removed, the BBC has been told by charities observing the talks and negotiators from other countries.
This has stalled the whole deal on progressing women’s access to support in the face of climate change, they say.
When asked why the Vatican and others were making the intervention now, after nearly a decade, one country negotiator told the BBC: “It is part of a broader global backlash against women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights.”
Source: COP29 row breaks out with Vatican over gender rights – BBC News
More context from the Vatican below pinpointing concerns around “gender” language which could include men with sexist identity claims.
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/29-november/news/world/vatican-opposes-resolution-on-women-s-rights-at-cop29-talks
Women at CSW (Commission on the Status of Women) some years ago fought a strong and engaging campaign to have ‘the girl child’ included in UN language. This resulted in a massive achievement, namely ‘women and girls’ incorporated into UN documentation. This achievement should not be overlooked and its replacement by ‘gender’ is not helpful. Hence, what about COPs nation status saying they support women’s rights dropping gender and reinstating the language of women and girls.
After all, going down the ‘gender’ route has imposed upon the English language and, hence, UN language, an elision between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ so that ‘gender’ purports to be sex which it is not. Gender is the word signifying the stereotyping of women by imposing upon sex realities (eg pregnancy, maternity, breastfeeding, abortion rights, menstruation, menopause, differences in experiencing (for example) heart attacks and other health issues that do not apply to men) negative assumptions about what women ‘should do’ or ‘should be’ because of their sex. Gender assumptions and stereotypes are, for example, that women alone bear the responsibility for children and childcare, that women are incapable of undertaking certain jobs because there are ‘men’s jobs’ and ‘women’s jobs’.
The use of gender today to ‘replace’ sex has taken us all into a place where women’s and girls’ rights are no longer recognised as specific and based in justice, fairness and equality. Instead of going to the wall to keep ‘gender’ in UN language, what about affirming that it is women and girls whose rights nation states seek to uphold and advance. The language should be written in terms consistent with what they – nation states – say they seek to do. Women and girls includes lesbians, so no need to fight for gender to do so: no one other than a woman can be a lesbian, so ‘woman’ automatically includes them. Instead of allowing countries that oppose women’s and girls’ rights to run the agenda, think strategically – as well as recognising the campaign that women fought and won those years ago.
‘Women and girls’ is specific, explicit language that says precisely what is wanted to ensure that it is women’s and girls’ rights that are on the agenda.