BRUSSELS — The leaders of the world’s leading economies who are meeting in Italy for the annual Group of Seven summit on Friday are set to define gender equality as a human right after the US dropped its opposition, diplomats from a number of G-7 states told BuzzFeed News.



Including a reference to “human rights” in the statement G-7 leaders will sign in Italy would mark an important change of heart by the Trump administration over the course of just a few days.

Earlier this week, diplomatic sources told BuzzFeed News that negotiators from the US involved in drafting the leaders’ statement opposed any wording that would commit the countries to promoting gender equality as human right. The US negotiators argued that framing the issue as a “top priority” was sufficient, the sources said. (The White House did not respond to a request for comment.)

The final statement is expected to say “Gender equality is fundamental for the fulfilment of human rights,” a diplomatic source told BuzzFeed News.

The reference to human rights would be a big diplomatic win for Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. His government had been pushing for the wording, and was supported by all G-7 countries except, until a few days ago, the US, the diplomats said.



A senior Canadian government source told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday that Canada had won the argument and the human rights language was going in the draft text. A diplomat from a second G-7 country also confirmed the change early Friday morning.

The statement is still a draft, and the various positions and exact wording may change when the seven leaders meet in the Sicilian town of Taormina.

