Ninth Regional Conference on Women in Latin América and the Caribbean

Ninth Regional Conference on Women in Latin América and the Caribbean

ECLAC. Mexico City, 10-12 June 2004
http://www.eclac.cl

Access to the Mexico Consensus approved by the Governments of the countries participating in the Conference

The Ninth Session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Mexico City, from 10 to 12 June 2004. The Conference counted with the participation of thirty-five representatives of States and Associate members of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC(, representatives of the United Nations Specialized Agencies and Observer from the civil society. The Conference had as and objective to review the implementation of the international commitments made in the Regional Programme of Action adopted in 1994 and the Beijing Platform of Action. This forum also agreed the regional contribution for the next session of the Commission on Legal and Social Condition of Women, which is to be held in March 2005.

The Regional Conference is a subsidiary body of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) which is convened on a regular basis. Its purposes are to identify women’s needs at the regional and subregional levels, present recommendations, undertake periodic assessments of the activities carried out in fulfilment
of regional and international plans and agreements on the subject, and serve as a forum for debates on relevant issues.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES OF THE CONFERENCE

Mandate and functions
The Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean is a subsidiary organ of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and is convened in compliance with the mandates contained in the Regional Plan of Action (1977). The Conference meets periodically at intervals of no more than three years.2 In accordance with the Plan of Action and the agreements adopted by Governments, it fulfils the following functions:
• To determine regional and subregional needs for technical assistance and give support to
all United Nations bodies operating in the region to enable them to meet those needs;
• To put forward recommendations to Governments and to ECLAC itself based on studies carried out by the secretariat on the most feasible way of implementing the agreements adopted by United Nations regional conferences;
• To review and appraise periodically the activities of ECLAC and other United Nations bodies;
• To evaluate periodically the implementation of the Regional Plan of Action and the Regional Programme of Action for the Women of Latin America and the Caribbean, 1995- 2001;
• To provide a forum for the exchange of information to facilitate mutual coordination and support for programmes designed to promote gender mainstreaming and the integration of women into the economic and social development process at various levels and permit the countries in the region to share relevant experience.

What are the aims of the ninth session of the regional conference?
At the ninth session of the Regional Conference, member States shall review the implementation of the international commitments made in the Regional Programme of Action for the Women of Latin America and the Caribbean, which was adopted in 1994 by the sixth session of the Regional Conference and ratified in 2000 in the Lima Consensus.
The Conference shall also serve as a forum for deciding on the regional contribution to the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which is to be held in March 2005.

AGENDA

1. Election of officers
2. Adoption of the agenda
3. Activities carried out by the ECLAC secretariat and the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean since the eighth session of the Regional Conference
4. Poverty, economic autonomy and gender equity
5. Empowerment, institution-building and gender equity
6. Activities commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women
7. Consideration and adoption of agreements by the Conference
8. Other matters

The Conference was organized regarding the proposal formulated by the Directive Board on its thirty fifth session: "organize its work in a permanent plenary session and two thematic sessions devoted to the two thematic axes whose preliminary denomination is poverty, economy and gender equity, empowerment, institutional development and gender equity."

In fulfilment of this agreement it was proposed to establish two working groups open to all delegations, which met parallel on June 11th in order to facilitate the debate of the two topics that will be analysed in the conference, corresponding to items 4 and 5 of the provisional topics. The working document prepared by ECLAC on both topics "Roads towards gender equity in Latin America and the Caribbean" (LC/L.2114 (crm.9/3)) was presented in plenary session on June 10th in the afternoon.

PRESS RELEASE

Women's Lack of Autonomy Hampers Anti-Poverty Efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean

Poverty Affects Women More than Men in Latin America

Events