The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling decisions 7/COP.12, 9/COP.10, 9/COP.11, 30/COP.13 and 24/COP.14,
Reaffirming that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, particularly persons with disabilities and people that are poor or live in vulnerable situations, will make an important contribution to the effective implementation of the Convention, including the 2018−2030 Strategic Framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and to the achievement of the goals and targets contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goal target 15.3 on land degradation neutrality,
Recognizing that women play an essential role in collectively managing land more sustainably, reducing biodiversity loss and mitigating and adapting to the effects of drought,
Reaffirming that securing women’s tenure rights and women’s access to and rights to land and other natural resources will be critical for the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals (in particular Sustainable Development Goals 11 (Sustainable cities and communities); 1 (No poverty); 5 (Gender equality); and 2 (Zero hunger)) and for the effective implementation of the Convention considering the Technical Guide on the Integration of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security into the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation Neutrality, Reiterating our strong commitment to the effective implementation of the Gender Action Plan,
Also reiterating the importance for Parties to create an enabling environment, especially at the national level, to make the implementation of the Convention genderresponsive and transformative,
Welcoming with appreciation the work done by the secretariat and the Global Mechanism, particularly in support of the implementation of the Gender Action Plan, while also recognizing the need to strengthen partnerships with relevant organizations,
Also welcoming with appreciation the convening of the Gender Caucus, under the presidency of the First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire, and having considered the summary of its recommendations prepared by the secretariat,
Having considered document ICCD/COP(15)17 and the conclusions contained therein, 1. Approves the proposed road map to guide and accelerate the implementation of the Gender Action Plan through gender-responsive and transformative approaches;
2. Encourages Parties, in the implementation of the Gender Action Plan, to pay special attention to intersectionality (including but not limited to age, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, nationality) when planning, designing and implementing policy and programming related to desertification/land degradation and drought;
3. Also encourages Parties to submit, on a voluntary basis, reports on the implementation of key national-level activities contained in the road map and requests the secretariat to compile such information on a regular basis; 4. Welcomes the Terms of Reference of the Gender Caucus presented during its proceedings;
5. Strongly encourages Parties to increase the representation of women in their delegations attending the Conference of Parties and invites Parties to facilitate the meaningful participation of women, women’s organizations and people in vulnerable situations in United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification processes at all levels of decision-making;
6. Requests the secretariat, in collaboration with constituted bodies under the Convention, to monitor the level of gender parity across the Convention and report its findings to sessions of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention and the Conference of the Parties;
7. Also requests the secretariat to consult with women’s organizations and organizations that provide funding for women’s participation in global treaty processes with a view to extending these funds to also cover official United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification meetings;
8. Further requests the secretariat to facilitate, on an annual basis, the convening of the Gender Caucus in conjunction with sessions of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention and/or the Conference of the Parties, as well as on an ad hoc basis, with a view to guiding and supporting Parties to enhance the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and its road map;
9. Requests the secretariat to continue collaborating and coordinating with relevant international organizations, including the other Rio conventions, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and other United Nations entities, to support the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and its road map, especially in the areas of policy, advocacy and research;
10. Invites the secretariat and technical and financial partners to support Parties, upon request, in designing and implementing the Gender Action Plan at the national level to facilitate its appropriation by stakeholders, subject to the availability of financial resources;
11. Encourages the secretariat, subject to the availability of funds, to continue collaboration with the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies to enhance the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and its road map, including to generate gender-disaggregated data, to inform gender-responsive policy design for achieving land degradation neutrality;
12. Requests the secretariat to synthesize and analyse information on gender matters included in national reports submitted by Parties as part of the reporting process for consideration at the twenty-first session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention;
13. Also requests the secretariat to report on the progress made in implementing this decision to the Conference of the Parties at its sixteenth session.
