Malta is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence and the 20th anniversary of its membership of the European Union.

Thirty-five years after the end of the Cold War was signed in Malta by US President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the geopolitical landscape has changed dramatically, and Russia’s unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine is shaking the foundations of the international and European order that prevailed just two years ago.

In this fractured world, with the return of war to our continent, Europe is showing its unity and resolve to support Ukraine, for as long and as intensively as necessary.

Malta is asserting itself as an active State on the diplomatic scene, at the UN Security Council, where it was elected, until the end of 2024, in the Council of Europe, where it will take over the presidency next year, and, this year, as chair of the OSCE.

In this capacity, on Monday and Tuesday, it will host the conference on combating anti-Semitism. I will have the honour of leading the French delegation to reiterate our determination to “take action against separatists, against all those who promote hatred and give in to anti-Semitism”, in the words of the French President of the Republic, “because anti-Semitism is a fight against the universalism of the Republic”. It is this universalism which, in Europe, enables us to stand up for law, justice and peace wherever these treasures of civilisation are abused.

It is the same universalism that, in the Middle East, demands that we stand firm on our principles, that we condemn terrorism, as we have done in the clearest terms, that we condemn particularly sexual violence committed by Hamas, not forgetting the hostages whose release we are demanding, while, at the same time, calling on us to protect the civilians currently under bombardment in Gaza and to chart a course for peace that recognises the humanity in the face of the other.

This universalism lies at the heart of the principles that inspired the drafters of the Declaration of Human Rights, whose 75th anniversary we celebrated on December 10. These principles are not cultural, they are not Western, they are not dated or geographically circumscribed. Human rights are universal because they are at the very foundation of all humanity; they are the foundation of the equal human dignity of all men and women, everywhere in the world, in Europe as well as in Iran, Sudan or Afghanistan.

Human rights also mean women’s rights- Aurore Bergé

Human rights also mean women’s rights: women everywhere must be able to assert their rights, to be treated on an equal footing with men, to have access to public and private decision-making processes, to live and work, to be protected against sexual and gender-based violence, to have full and free control over their bodies and, therefore, to have access to health and sexual and reproductive rights. In this spirit, France is proud to be the first country to have enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution.

President Emmanuel Macron has made gender equality the major cause of his two quinquennia in office, a fundamental axis of our policy that I am proud to carry forward, both in France and abroad, as part of the feminist diplomacy we are pursuing.

All too often, women are still the main victims of injustice, discrimination and violence. We witnessed this with the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7. These barbaric acts from another age, these rapes and mutilations, have been clearly established. Why is it that, in the 21st century, rape is still used as a tactic of war, in Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Iraq, where Yezidi women have been the victims of atrocities committed by Daesh?

This is a battle that must mobilise our two countries, in the Security Council, in the OSCE and in all the relevant international fora, as part of the ‘Women, Peace and Security’ agenda to which we are committed.

I know that our opinions sometimes diverge. All the more reason to continue our discussions, with mutual respect and reciprocal willingness to listen.

I look forward to a confident and demanding dialogue with the Maltese authorities and NGOs on all these issues.

Aurore Bergé is France’s Minister Delegate for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination.