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Meeting of
women representing regional Networks in latin America and the Caribbean in the
process of Cairo +15
Panama, 3-5 August 2009
The present organizations and
networks from Latin America and the Caribbean present in this meeting made up
of women from regional networks throughout the region on the theme of Cairo +15
manifest our profound concern that 15 years after the Cairo Program of Action
was agreed to, Latin America and the Caribbean is still the region with the
greatest socio-economic inequality in the world.
In a context marked by the
structural changes sought in many of our countries, and by the regional
implications manifested by the current financial crisis, we do not see enough
political will on the part of Governments to meet their commitments under the
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). As a region, we
are lagging significantly behind in meeting the goals in 2015, and we see that
this panorama is aggravated when investing in public resources is prioritized
to save the financial system, at the expense of reducing the resources to
surpass the profound inequalities in the world that have been generated by a
model now in crisis.
The commitments stated in the
Program of Action cannot be abandoned, for this would entail violations of
basic human rights, such as the right to health, to education, to work, to a
life free from violence and development of millions of women, of all ages and
identities, in the world- costs which condition them to face situations of exclusion,
violence, and discrimination.
In evaluating the past 15 years,
this indicates that to these agreements, States have given diverse answers,
translated into policies and services but that, in may cases, do not meet the
needs nor guarantee every persons access to exercise their civil, political,
economic, social, cultural, sexual and reproductive rights. Achievements have
been unequal and insufficient; in some cases significant setbacks have
occurred, and today there are a number of threats, which call for the need to
strengthen lay and democratic States.
It is also noteworthy to mention
the relevant contributions and participation of the networks and organizations
of women and of feminists, as actors in strengthening governments
accountability towards meeting their commitments. The emergence of new groups
and organizations in this process has enriched the agenda and has redefined the
challenges of meeting the Cairo agenda.
In this context, we call on all
States and governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to:
- Recognize,
implement, and reinforce their commitments acquired in 1994 and 1999, and
reaffirmed in 2004 and 2009, particularly those to eliminate poverty,
decrease inequalities, and to better meet the needs of the majority of the
population, as indispensible for sustainable development.
- Assume
the responsibility of sustaining and deepening the quality of the
democratic system and destine all human, economic and technical resources
necessary in order to narrow the present gaps and meet the expressed
commitments inCairo by 2015.
- Strengthen
and promote the collaboration between governments, agencies, international
cooperation organisms, and civil society organizations, with a particular
emphasis on women and feminists, in order to guarantee the implementation
and achievement of the agreed upon goals in the areas of population,
well-being and sustainable development, within a human rights framework.
Organized women from diverse
networks and collective spaces of Latin America and the Caribbean demand:
I. In relation to population policies,
particularly those relating to poverty reduction, population dynamics, and
sustainable development:
- Strengthen
and guarantee access to and right to housing, work, education,
communication, health, water, food, clean air, universal access to social
security, in order to ensure conditions for a dignified life, particularly
for women in vulnerable situations for reasons of age, race, ethnicity,
health conditions, life and work conditions, sexual orientation,
migratory, refugee, or displacement status, disability, drug use,
confinement, victims of human trafficking, or for any other reason
- Attend
to the process of the aging of population, in particular the feminization
of ageing and its actual and future impact over health, the economy, and
development, adopting legal measures and programs of government that tend
to diminish negative effects of those demographic changes, procuring to
ensure that all conditions allow for a dignified life for women of all
ages and conditions, that is integrated into society
- Promote
the responsibility between men and women, in care-taking through a system
of protection and social welfare, with basis in equal parity, recognizing
womens unremunerated domestic work (Quito Consensus, 2007)
- Reject
all forms of forced displacement within and among countries of all persons
regardless of labor activity, age, ethnic or racial condition, HIV status,
or any other form of discrimination. Attend to the life conditions of
migrants and refugees and guarantee all their rights, particularly
attention to their basic needs.
- Respect
the right to free movement and the association of personas, without
discrimination, reformulating all migration policies accordingly.
- Respect
the rights of peoples, in particular indigenous and afro-descendent women,
in terms of the right to land, territory, and food security, respecting
the right of consent in all matters of their lives.
- Establish
mechanisms of incorporating and recognizing young people as productive and
subjects of economic rights, recognizing and executing public policies
that respond to their necessities and specific demands, involving them as
political actors in the design, implementation, and evaluation of these.
II. In relation to sexual rights and
reproductive rights, with an emphasis on abortion and HIV/AIDS:
Strengthen
the protection and fulfillment of sexual and reproductive rights of all people,
without discrimination.
Endure
universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, as
well as the widest gamut of contraceptives, and universal access to prevention,
treatment, care and support of HIV/AIDS.
- Promote
comprehensive policies that reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, in a
human rights framework.
- Recognize
adolescents and young people as rights-bearers and guarantee their access
to opportunities that allow them to make free, informed, and responsible
choices in all areas that affect their lives, particularly in regards to
their sexuality, guaranteeing them with access to comprehensive sexuality
education, and information about all contraceptive methods and access
those of their choice.
- Promote
universal access to quality education that includes comprehensive
sexuality education at all levels, within a human rights framework and the
recognition of cultural diversity. Implement in their totality the
commitments acquired in the Mexico City Ministerial Declaration on
Preventing with Education signed August 2008.
- Guarantee
access to quality legal and safe abortion services, as a necessary
condition towards reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, and in
order to meet the ICPD Program of Action and the MDGs.
- Implement
efficient and comprehensive measures to eradicate and prevent violence
against women, including the linkages with HIV/AIDS, as well as sexual
violence, and ensure access to justice for those living in situations of
violence.
- Guarantee
universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support of people
living with HIV/AIDS, particularly all women of all ages and conditions,
including through meeting their sexual and reproductive rights, as well as
living free from stigma and discrimination.
III. In relation to gender equality and the
empowerment of women, with particular emphasis on the eradication of all forms
of violence:
- Guarantee,
in legislation, policies, and norms, the full respect and recognition of
women of all ages and conditions as rights-bearers with the capacity to
make free choices.
- Eradicate
all forms of expressions and forms of violence and discrimination against
women of all ages and conditions.
- Take
into account the differential impact of men and women that live in
vulnerable situations, giving political and budgetary priority to women in
general, and taking into particular consideration the needs of indigenous
and afro-descendent populations; migrants; people living with HIV; boys,
girls, adolescents, and young people; elder persons; persons with
disabilities; sex workers; lesbians; transsexuals; transgenders; and
victims of trafficking.
- Promote
the full participation of women, in equal parity, of all aspects of
political, economic, academic, social, cultural, and community life.
IV. In relation with the participation of
organized citizenship, and in particular womens organizations, in the
definition, evaluation, and content of population and development policies:
- Create,
strengthen, and guarantee permanent spaces of dialogue and joint
decision-making between government and civil society, for the monitoring
and implementation of the ICPD Program of Action and its reviews.
- Strengthen
information systems and guarantee access to civil society organizations to
facilitate monitoring of implementation, and make budgetary transparency a
priority, particularly in how public budgets are spent, for the
implementation of the ICPD.
- Guarantee
and facilitate the task of monitoring and evaluation of the public
policies by organized civil society, particularly by womens and feminist
organizations, in meeting chapter XV of the ICPD Program of Action.
V. In relation to the sustainability of
this Agenda:
- Guarantee
sufficient resources for Latin America and the Caribbean, destined to population
and development, with particular emphasis on the rights of women of all
ages and conditions.
- Meet
the necessary budgetary allocation through assigning sufficient economic
resources, from developed to developing countries, as stipulated in the
ICPD Program of Action.
- Assign
appropriate national budget lines, clearly identified, for the
implementation of social welfare of all people and in particular of women
of all ages and conditions.
- Guarantee
the adequate use of such resources, with the ability to identify the
results of already implemented policies, generating mechanisms for civil
society monitoring and in so doing making them more transparent and
eradicating the possibility of fraudulent use of these.
- Guarantee
or create participatory auditing mechanisms and social control of public
budgets.
- Support,
in all possible ways, and taking into account the aforementioned
challenges, the initiatives generated from womens and civil society
organizations, to contribute to the effective and efficient implementation
of the ICPD Program of Action
15 years after the ICPD was held
in Cairo, the call from womens networks and collective spaces from Latin
America and the Caribbean does not diverge from what governments subscribed to
in 1994, nor during the revision of Cairo +5 in 1994 and Cairo +10 in 2004.
Without fully implementing the Cairo Program of Action, the goals aspired to
for 2015 will not only not be met, but there will be no way of reaching the
Millennium Development Goals.
With five years left towards its
full implementation, it is in the hands of governments to redouble their
efforts and fully commit to their direct responsibility in creating the
necessary conditions and guarantees for the health and life of the general
population in general, and of women of all ages and conditions in particular.
As organized women in a diverse
range of networks and collective spaces from Latin America and the Caribbean, we demand all democratic
guarantees, sustained in the secularity and sovereignty of States, and the
political and economic commitments necessary for making our region free of all
forms of discrimination and violence and for the fulfillment of all human
rights.
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