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E-091/00
April 27, 2000

MORE PARTICIPATION FOR HEMISPHERE'S WOMEN IS URGED

 

Women ministers and high-level officials responsible for women's issues in Organization of American States (OAS) member countries renewed the call today for more women in decision-making in the hemisphere's nations.

The call was made at the opening of a two-day Meeting of Women Ministers and Authorities Responsible for Women's Issues, convened by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), an OAS specialized agency.

The delegates agreed that the region needed firmer mechanisms for women to participate and access to the decision-making machinery and power on an equal footing.

In his opening remarks OAS Secretary General C�sar Gaviria noted that only by fully incorporating women into the decision-making structures and by opening up opportunities for women leaders can Latin America move from being the world's most inequitable region."

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reiterated her government's support for a proposed Inter-American Program for Promoting Women's Human Rights and Gender Equity, along with efforts by other OAS member states to combat trafficking in women and children. She stated that the buying and selling of women and children is unfortunately one of the world's fastest growing criminal enterprises. It is now the third largest source of income for international organized crime, after drug trafficking and arms trafficking, she added.

El Salvador's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mar�a Eugenia Brizuela de Avila spoke to the importance of the meeting since it provided an opportunity "to insist on rights that are rightfully ours --and which would make our democracies stronger through gender equity and equality in the Americas."

A message from Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) Dulce Mar�a Sauri of Mexico underscored the achievements of equal opportunities for men and women as involving, "by necessity, measures to compensate for the social disadvantages that have traditionally hindered women from deriving the same benefits from development as men do."

OAS Permanent Council Chairman Ambassador Marcelo Ostria Trigo of Bolivia lauded CIM's more than 70 years of significant contribution towards the advancement of women. He also called for "more to be done to incorporate the hemisphere's women into society on an equal footing, as agents of change."

And, insisting that a large percentage of women were still not being paid the same as men for the same work, CIM Vice President Indranie Chandarpal, Guyana's Minister of Human Services and Social Security, observed that women often come up against discriminatory laws in addition to the limited decision-making role they are given. "Formal equality does not guarantee getting rid of discrimination that leads to gender-biased judicial rulings," added Chandarpal, who is chairing the conference in the absence of the CIM President.

After the opening ceremony, the Salvadorean Minister of Foreign Affairs presented US Secretary of State Madaleine Albright with the Salvadorean government's Order of Jos� Mat�as Delgado for Albright’s "firm and invaluable support for peace, democracy and development in El Salvador."

 

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