Australia-UAE CEPA Chapter 19 Trade, Gender Balance and Women’s Economic Empowerment

Article 19.1 General Principles

1. The Parties acknowledge the importance of women's economic empowerment to sustainable, inclusive and equitable trade and investment.
2. The Parties acknowledge that ensuring women's full and equal participation and leadership in the economy, including in the labour market, and their entrepreneurship underpin economic prosperity, and the wellbeing of societies.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to integrate women's economic empowerment in their trade and investment relationship, including through, inter alia:
   1. incorporating women's economic empowerment into trade and investment related policies;
   2. adopting, implementing and monitoring laws, regulations, policies and practices and making them publicly available, that advance women's economic empowerment in trade and investment;
   3. identifying and removing barriers that limit opportunities for women to participate in and benefit from trade and investment;
   4. supporting inclusive and equitable access for women to trade and investment opportunities;
   5. sharing information, tools and experiences in designing, implementing, resourcing and strengthening policies, programmes and other initiatives to advance women's empowerment in trade and investment; and
   6. promoting women's empowerment and non-discrimination in employment and income opportunities, including addressing gender pay gaps and safety in workplaces.
4. The Parties recognise their obligation to enforce their laws and regulations on non-discrimination and women's empowerment. Furthermore, the Parties recognise that it is inappropriate to encourage trade and investment by weakening or reducing the protection thereof afforded in their respective laws and regulations.
5. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to preclude a Party from applying measures that it considers necessary to meet its international obligations to respect, protect, fulfil and promote human rights.

Article 19.2 International Instruments

1. The Parties affirm their commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women done at New York City on 18 December 1979.
2. The Parties affirm the objectives of the Joint Declaration on Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment done at Buenos Aires on 12 December 2017.
3. The Parties recognise that advancing women's empowerment contributes to inclusive and equitable trade, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution 70/1 on 25 September 2015, and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995.
4. The Parties also acknowledge their women's empowerment commitments applicable to trade and investment under other relevant international agreements or instruments to which the Parties are party.

Article 19.3 Cooperation

1. The Parties shall undertake cooperation activities that advance women's economic empowerment in trade and investment, including support for women workers, business owners and entrepreneurs to access the full benefits and opportunities created by this Agreement.
2. Cooperation activities may take the form of, but are not limited to, exchange of information and best practices, technical discussions, joint research activities, trade missions, visits, or conferences, cooperation in multilateral forums and such other forms as the Parties may agree.
3. All cooperation activities under this Chapter are subject to the availability of resources, and in accordance with laws and regulations of the Parties.

Article 19.4 Contact Points

Each Party shall designate a contact point to facilitate communication and the exchange of information on matters arising under this Chapter within 90 days of the date of entry into force of this Agreement in order to facilitate communication between the Parties. Each Party shall promptly notify the other Party in the event of any change to its contact point.

Article 19.5 Non-Application of Dispute Settlement

The Parties shall not have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 25 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under this Chapter.