Feminist foreign policy

On Tuesday 12 July, Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality Åsa Regnér will represent Sweden at the launch of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children at the UN Headquarters in New York. This partnership for global collaboration is part of the 2030 Agenda, and Sweden has a prominent role to play as one of the pathfinders in this work.

Opinion piece by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström in Dagens Nyheter 28 June 2016. "Sweden has been elected. The seat on the UN Security Council is a great victory for Swedish foreign policy and Swedish diplomacy. We are convinced that as a small and open country dependent on the rest of the world, it is in our interest to contribute to and defend the international order that has at its core the United Nations and the Security Council,” writes Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström (Social Democratic Party)."

For the past year I have visited conflict zones from Afghanistan to Somalia, Lebanon, Liberia and South Sudan. In each of these countries it has been the human stories that stick with me, both those related to sexual- and gender-based violence and those of courageous women and men committed to promoting peace and development.

As part of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs’s public diplomacy campaign #FirstGeneration, on 9 June the Swedish Consulate-General in New York held a seminar and panel discussion on the theme of engaging young people in the work on the UN Global Goals.

Speech by Margot Wallström at the meeting with the General Secretary and Permanent Observers. The Organization of American States' General Assembly 13 June 2016, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Check against delivery.

On the afternoon of 12 May, Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet left Sweden following a three-day State Visit. The President was in Sweden at the invitation of HM the King. This was the first State Visit by a Chilean president to Sweden. Several of the Government ministers took part in the programme. The purpose of the visit was to broaden and deepen bilateral relations between Chile and Sweden.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has launched #FirstGeneration, an international campaign in collaboration with international and local actors. The campaign is intended to strengthen international efforts on the 2030 Agenda and help ensure that new and younger target groups take on the challenges linked to the UN’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

Opinion piece by the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate, and Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin and the Minister for Education, Gustav Fridolin in The Huffington Post, 9 June 2016.

Speech by Margot Wallström, Minister for Foreign Affairs at the 12th Chemical and Biological Weapons Protection Symposium, 8 June 2016. Check against delivery!

The Call to Action is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched in 2013 that aims to fundamentally transform the way gender-based violence (GBV) is addressed in humanitarian emergencies. The goal is to drive change and foster accountability so that every humanitarian effort, from the earliest phases of a crisis, includes the polices, systems and mechanisms to mitigate GBV risks, especially violence against women and girls, and to provide safe and comprehensive services for those affected by GBV. A Road Map for Action

When I took office in October 2014 as Minister for International Development Cooperation after more than five years in the European Parliament, many people asked me how it felt to 'switch' issues. In the European Union, I had worked mostly with fisheries policy, and at this point I would be dealing with development issues. In retrospect, I can see that the switch was not as dramatic as one might believe.

Foreign Minister Margot Wallström’s speech at Africa Day in Stockholm 25 May 2016. Check against delivery.

Speech by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström at A Call to Action for addressing Gender-based Violence in Emergencies: Leadership, coordination, tools and practise – side event with UK/UNFPA/UNICEF/IRC/Oxfam, at World Humanitarian Summit, Istanbul 24 maj 2016. Check against delivery!

Speech by the Minister for International Development Cooperation at the IPPF event - Call to Humanity - Transformative Humanitarian Action for Prioritizing Sexual and Reproductive Health, Istanbul 23 May, 2016. Check against delivery!

Introductory speech by Isabella Lövin, Minister for International Development Cooperation, at the International Dialogue side event at the World Humanitarian Summit, Istanbul 23 May, 2016. Check against delivery!

Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström and Minister for International Development Cooperation Isabella Lövin will take part in the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) on 23 and 24 May. Some 150 countries will take part in the Summit, which is being held at the initiative of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Article by the Nordic Development Ministers on the World Humanitarian Summit May 23-24 2016.

Within the framework of this strategy, Swedish development cooperation with Liberia will contribute to peacebuilding and statebuilding. The aim is to help strengthen Liberia’s public services and create the conditions for peaceful, inclusive and sustainable development.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström will visit New York on 10–12 May to speak at the high-level thematic debate in the General Assembly on peace and security, and to address the Security Council concerning terrorism.