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HEMISPHERIC MEETING UNDERSCORES NEED FOR
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

Ministers responsible for the advancement of women concluded an important meeting at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington today, agreeing to step up efforts to integrate a gender perspective into hemispheric development initiatives. The participants encouraged women to more actively participate in the trade processes, and discussed how the benefits of trade can be utilized positively impact women.

The three-day Second Meeting of Ministers and the Highest Ranking Authorities Responsible for the Advancement of Women in the Americas, chaired by Canada’s Minister of State for the Status of Women Jean Augustine, adopted en bloc a Declaration and five resolutions underscoring their commitments to this end. Costa Rica’s Minister of the Status of Women, Esmeralda Britton González, was Vice Chair of the meeting that was organized by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM). It was the second ministerial meeting convened under an OAS General Assembly mandate.

In the Declaration, the participants reaffirmed their governments’ commitment to the objectives of “equality of rights and opportunities between women and men.” Noting progress has been made but that greater emphasis is still needed in some countries, the ministers and high-ranking authorities “undertake to elevate national mechanisms to a ministerial or equivalent authority in each and every member state.”

The Resolutions adopted focus on: Integrating a Gender Perspective in the Summits of the Americas; Women, Trade and Economic Empowerment; Violence against Women; Recommendations on Gender and Justice; and Strengthening of the CIM.

Among the recommendations on gender and justice—to be presented to the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General of the Americas—the OAS meeting proposed to encourage the incorporation of gender perspective into the work and policies of justice ministries and offices of attorneys general “so that women’s experiences and needs as victims, users, operators or administrators of the judicial system, may be considered in all policies and programs related to the legal sector.”

The delegates also recommended efforts to promote full cooperation to fight international trafficking in women and girls, and to encourage the creation of programs to provide assistance to victims. Recommendations also focused on the need to promote equality among men and women “by eliminating negative stereotypes in the media, and to promote the use of the media to disseminate information and basic knowledge on the human rights of women and on the laws and mechanisms and institutions that protect women’s and children’s rights.”

Delegates reported on strategies being implemented in each member state to implement the relevant hemispheric Summit and OAS General Assembly mandates to promote gender equality.

According to CIM Executive Secretary Carmen Lomellin, the meeting reiterated very critical issues including economic empowerment for women and the need to strengthen national mechanisms.
She said it also emphasized the need for member states to work together with civil society to achieve the stated goals.

Among observers to the conference, Joyce Opoku-Boateng, Legal Officer with Ghana’s Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Affairs, addressed the conference. She highlighted aspects of strategies being utilized in Ghana to tackle the challenges with the issue of violence against women. She also underscored the valuable insights gleaned from this Western Hemisphere meeting

Reference: E-065/04