From NY Carib News

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (CMC) — The 13th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean ended here on Friday with delegates, including those from the Caribbean, approving the Montevideo Strategy to achieve gender equality in the region by 2030.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said the Strategy sets out 74 measures for the 10 implementation pillars of the regional agenda on gender.

“This agenda encompasses all the commitments undertaken by the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean regarding women’s rights and autonomy, and on gender equality, since the first Regional Conference held in 1977 through the present,” ECLAC said.

It said the first five implementation pillars of the strategy approved are normative framework – equality and rule of law; Institutions – multidimensional and integrated policies of gender equality; Popular and citizen participation -democratization of policy and society; State capacity-building and–strengthening: public administration based on equality and non-discrimination; and Financing – mobilizing sufficient and sustainable resources for gender equality.

The other five pillars, according to ECLAC, are: Communication – access to information and cultural exchange; Technology – toward e-government innovative and inclusive economies; Cooperation – toward democratic multilateral governance; Information systems – transforming data into information, information into knowledge and knowledge into political decisions; and Monitoring, evaluation and accountability: guaranteeing rights and transparency.

The resolution indicates that these pillars are interrelated and that putting them into effect will help establish sustainable sectorial and cross-cutting policies aimed at eliminating gender inequalities and guaranteeing the effective enjoyment of human rights by all women, according to ECLAC.

ECLAC said the strategy is a regional agreement that “the member states will adapt to their priorities, plans for gender equality and rights, sustainable development plans, and national policies and budgets”.

ECLAC said the presiding officers of the Regional Conference on Women is now formed by Uruguay as chair, along with Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, and Suriname.

The countries also agreed that the XIV Regional Conference on Women will be held in Santiago, Chile in 2019.

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