ECLAC highlights the importance of promoting bi-regional cooperation programs between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union to promote gender equality, care policies and systems, and the Women, Peace and Security agenda

The inauguration of the Forum was in charge of the host governments, Germany, Argentina, Spain and Mexico through Tobías Lindner, Secretary of State of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Leire Pajín, President of the EU-LAC Foundation, Javier Niño Pérez, Deputy Director for the Americas of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Pilar Cancela, Secretary of State for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain; María Cristina Perceval, Special Representative for Feminist Foreign Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Culture of the Argentine Republic and Dr. Cristopher Ballinas Valdés, General Director of Human Rights and Democracy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.

The authorities stressed the importance of relaunching political relations between two regions that have historical ties such as Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union. The common project between both regions has as a fundamental and strategic area gender equality and the incorporation of women and their full participation in all areas of decision-making, the economy and society.

During her presentation as a panelist, Ana Güezmes focused her presentation around overcoming gender inequalities that have deepened during the successive cascading crises. The Director highlighted the efforts being made to strengthen cooperation between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union on gender equality and care policies. He emphasized the need for a renewed bi-regional association and the existence of numerous areas in which both regions currently cooperate and may cooperate in the coming years around an agenda of common interests with a view to mainstreaming gender equality together with intersectional affirmative action. She made a call to welcome the transformational changes proposed by the care society. She also highlighted the existing synergies between the Regional Gender Agenda and the European Care Strategy. “The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean adopted in November 2022 at the XV Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean the Buenos Aires Commitment, recognizing care as a right of people to care, to be cared for and to exercise self-care, including measures to overcome the sexual division of labor and move towards a fair social organization of care, within the framework of a new style of development that promotes gender equality in the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and to move towards the care society”.

The Regional Gender Agenda is progressive, innovative and cumulative, in this sense, “it dialogues with the Strategy for Gender Equality of the European Union and with the European Care Strategy in various respects. Both regions share common challenges to develop care policies and systems, promote self-care, as well as ensure decent working conditions and quality employment for the people they care for,” said the Director. He ended his presentation by reiterating the call to promote the exchange on the progress, challenges and promising practices present in Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe, promote cooperation programs and stimulate the formulation of concrete proposals that articulate both regions in multilateral spaces and in each country.

Ginny Heisen, Founder and General Manager of Sustainability 3Rs, also participated in the panel, referring to gender gaps in environmental matters, and the role of women in the face of climate change, and Elvia Barrios, former President of the Supreme Court of Justice from Peru referred to some strategies to combat and punish gender violence.

Throughout two days, different initiatives, networks, associations and organizations that work on gender equality in both regions, held an open exchange on the progress, challenges and opportunities for cooperation in the area of ​​gender equality. human rights of girls, women, LGBTIQ+ people and gender equality; and whose development resulted in a set of proposals to be considered as a contribution to the bi-regional cooperation agenda and, particularly, the next EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in July 2023 in Berlin, Germany.

rmation in: https://eulacfoundation.org/en/gender-equality-forum-eu-lac