Samenvatting

The following paper presents an evaluation of actions and commitments
carried out by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) in order to achieve gender-sensitive sustainable development. Starting with the introduction explaining the issue of gender inequality and describing the research methods used for this study, it follows with an in-depth analysis of the EU and the UN respectively. Finally, the conclusions provide a list of all positive and negative results.
It is proven that both international bodies are engaging in the set of plans and agendas and that they claim their full contribution to the issue. Apart from participating in the process of combating gender inequalities on the international stage, the European Union also secures the inclusion of gender equality rules to the policies focusing on development within its Institutions: the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The United Nations respectively, is responsible for drafting gender-friendly conventions, declarations and other documents aiming, among other things, in providing a more balanced development. Those are usually adapted by the majority of the UN's Members. As it is stated in the conclusions, in many cases intentions are unfortunately not reflected by the results. Gender tends to be left behind in the process of policy implementation and the majority of countries do not follow the rules and restrictions placed on them after signing the specific papers mentioned above. Overall, a lot is being said on the topic of gender equality and sustainable development and the plans are very ambitious. If they had been followed by concrete actions, the outcomes could have been more satisfactory.