WOMEN EU Court of Justice fails to unblock EU accession to the Istanbul Convention The EU Court of Justice published its opinion on the EU becoming a party to the Istanbul Convention, the international treaty on violence against women, which explicitly extends to all women regardless of migration status. According to the opinion, the Council can take additional time to achieve greater political support among member states but cannot make “common accord” a prerequisite for a decision on accession, which should be made based on a qualified majority. In 2019, the European Parliament had asked for the court’s opinion hoping to clarify the process and thus overcome the political stalemate in the Council regarding the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. Some advocates have expressed frustration that the opinion does not provide the hoped-for clarity. In September, the Parliament adopted a legislative initiative on gender-based violence reiterating its call for the EU to ratify the Istanbul Convention, and noting the importance of addressing the situation of migrant women, especially those on spouse-dependent visas. UN publishes new guide on gender-responsive migration policies UN Women, the UN agency working for the empowerment of women, recently published a guide to provide guidance to governments and other key stakeholders on gender-responsive implementation of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). The guide address the specific needs, obstacles, and vulnerabilities of women, girls, and gender non-conforming people at all stages of migration. For each of the 23 Objectives of the GCM, the specific issues relating to migrant women and girls are outlined and concrete measures on how to address them in policies and practice are provided. Objectives concerning undocumented women include: access to services irrespective of one’s irregular status, as well as free or affordable legal assistance to all migrant women; access to permanent residence permits for migrant women who are at risk of being trafficked or are victims of trafficking; employment policies centred around equality of opportunity and treatment, including equal pay; access to effective reporting, complaint, and redress mechanisms for migrant women in the informal economy.