28. Welcomes and supports the Addis Ababa Declaration on Accelerating the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted in November 2014 during the Ninth African Conference on Women, on women’s reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, which called for investment into sexual and reproductive health rights, including by adopting and implementing laws on sexual and reproductive health, awareness raising and information services for teenagers and women, including comprehensive sexual health education, information and services; reiterates its call for the expansion of the provision of family planning services and contraceptives, for access to safe and lega ...[+++]l abortion services in accordance with national laws and policies, and for the protection of the reproductive rights of women by authorising medical abortion in the cases of sexual assault, rape and incest, in line with the Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;

70. Emphasises that the situation of women in the Arab Spring countries is often critical in order to assess progress with regard to democracy and human rights, and that securing women’s rights should be an essential part of the EU’s action in relation to these countries; calls for the establishment of a Women's Interparliamentary Euro-Arab Convention; also recalls that democracy entails the full participation of women in public life, as stated in international and regional instruments such as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa;

– having regard to regional human rights instruments, including in particular the African Charter on Human and Peoples" Rights, the Optional Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, the American Convention on Human Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights,

In particular, it contributes to the fulfilment of the right to equality between women and men (Article 23 of the Charter), the freedom to choose an occupation and the right to engage in work (Article 15 of the Charter).

EUROPA - EU law and publications - EUR-Lex - EUR-Lex - 62009CA0236 - EN - Case C-236/09: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 1 March 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Cour constitutionnelle (Belgium)) — Association Belge des Consommateurs Test-Achats ASBL, Yann van Vugt, Charles Basselier v Conseil des ministres (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Fundamental rights — Combating discrimination — Equal treatment for men and women — Access to and supply of goods and services — Insurance premiums and benefits — Actuarial factors — Sex as a factor in the assessment of insurance risks — Private life assurance contracts — Directive 2004/113/EC — Article 5(2) — Derogation not subject to any temporal limitation — ...[+++]Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Articles 21 and 23 — Invalidity) // Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 1 March 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Cour constitutionnelle (Belgium)) — Association Belge des Consommateurs Test-Achats ASBL, Yann van Vugt, Charles Basselier v Conseil des ministres // (Case C-236/09) - ( // (Reference for a preliminary ruling - Fundamental rights - Combating discrimination - Equal treatment for men and women - Access to and supply of goods and services - Insurance premiums and benefits - Actuarial factors - Sex as a factor in the assessment of insurance risks - Private life assurance contracts - Directive 2004/113/EC - Article 5(2) - Derogation not subject to any temporal limitation - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Articles 21 and 23 - Invalidity)

It is enshrined in the Treaty on European Union (Articles and 3(3)), the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Articles and 157(1)), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Article 23) and is 1 of 5 priorities in the Women's Charter