Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

CELAC countries are strongly committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as to respect for all the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, including the right to development. We reaffirm the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as well as of the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.  We also reaffirm the importance for States parties to fully comply with their international obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol.

The status of women is a matter of growing concern in our societies, particularly the feminization of poverty; the unequal burden of unpaid care work , including care for children, older persons, and persons suffering from diseases (as non-communicable diseases and HIV); and violence against women and trafficking in women and girls.

Consensus exists that priority should be given to gender equality and women’s empowerment as a prerequisite for the promotion of the development agenda, including the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. To this end, we should repeal discriminatory laws, ensure equal access to justice, and remove formal barriers to the realization of women's rights, and obstacles to their full and equal participation in decision-making processes.

We reaffirm the importance of eradicating poverty, addressing its economic, social and political structural causes and guaranteeing equal access for all women, as drivers of sustainable development, to food and housing, opportunities and public services.

We emphasize the need to undertake legislative and administrative reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, including access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, credit, inheritance, natural resources and appropriate new technology.

We recognize that the centrality of gender equity in the debate on development implies considering both the productive and reproductive dimension and transforming the  division of labor, which due to inequities in the reproductive field, has generated a  disproportionate burden for women, as well as gender structural inequalities that perpetuate the cycle of poverty, marginalization and inequity.

We should join efforts to continue to combat all forms of violence against women and girls, including feminicide, trafficking in persons and violence resulting from drug trafficking.

There is also a need to promote the participation of women in government decision-making and to increase their representation in public office, including at the highest government levels.  The commitment and actions to promote women’s participation in decision-making processes at the highest levels in the political, economic, cultural and social sectors should be renovated and given a priority in the national and international agendas.

Finally, CELAC reaffirms the importance of enhancing and strengthening women´s access to education at all levels, health care services, including sexual and reproductive health, and employment, including elimination of barriers to equal conditions for women and men in the workplace and equal pay for equal work, social protection, as well as autonomy and economic empowerment.

Mr. Chairman,

CELAC is also concerned about the situation of migrant, rural and indigenous women, women with disabilities, older women and women of African descent. Our countries agree to intensify efforts to develop the fullest potential of women and girls who besides being discriminated for being women, also face other multiple discrimination factors, such as race, age, language, ethnic origin, culture, religion, disabilities and among others.

We acknowledges that by 2050, more than 20 per cent of the world’s population will be 60 years or older, and that such demographic changes have profound  implications and increase the urgency of addressing violence and discrimination experienced by older women in a more comprehensive and systematic manner.

The CELAC Member States attach particular importance to the protection of women and girls in migrant families.  The contribution of women migrant workers to the development of their countries of destination and of their countries of origin must be fully recognized. The human rights of migrants deserve total protection, in accordance with the international obligations of States.

We are committed to intensifying measures to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, including “smuggling” and exploitation of migrants in all its forms and to guarantee the protection and care of victims of these crimes, especially of women, children and adolescents.  At the same time, we call on States to establish and strengthen appropriate focal points for coordination among countries of origin, transit and destination to combat these crimes.

Mr. Chairman,

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States welcomes the choice of the priority theme of this session: “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls” and is grateful for the interesting reports on this subject presented for this session by the Secretary-General.

We consider that the 58th Session of the CSW offers a historic opportunity to assess the achievements and identify the challenges since the adoption of the MDGs to attain substantive equality between women and men, and to contribute to the debates that are taking place at the national, regional, and global levels regarding the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is the most important global forum on gender issues and we need to be ambitious on this regard.

CELAC would like to highlight that a regional consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Mexico in February 2014, in connection with this 58th session of the Commission; and a Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean was held in the Dominican Republic in October 2013, adopting the Consensus of Santo Domingo which ratified the set of commitments made by States in the past 20 years and that constitute the women’s political and rights agenda in the region, in view of the agenda post 2015, which will define the priorities for achieving real equality between men and women and the full empowerment of women.

The region’s governments placed as a top priority the achievement of the MDGs and their commitment to the formulation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda; we also note the contribution of feminist and women’s movements and civil society organizations in placing the interests, needs, and vision of women on national, regional, and international agendas; and the achievements, challenges, and efforts of gender mechanisms in working for policies of equality.

The Post-2015 Development Agenda, including the SDGs, must build on the lessons learnt, by directly tackling both the unequal power relations between men and women and the gender stereotypes that impede sustainable development and discriminate against women and girls. They must fully integrate gender mainstreaming across all goals and targets that are developed and address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. They must also address the broader context for the realization of gender equality, such as the impact of economic crises, violence, persistent conflict, climate change, and environmental degradation; and they must be relevant to the contexts of small island developing states as well as of middle-income countries. The new development agenda must also build stronger institutions, a more participatory and effective governance, and greater accountability to deliver evident change for women and girls.

We call for a transformative and comprehensive stand-alone goal addressing gender equality, women´s human rights, and women´s empowerment, based on substantive equality, together with the integration of a gender perspective in all other goals, targets, and indicators. This stand-alone goal must address, at least, three critical dimensions: ensure a life free from violence and discrimination, ensure access and resource distribution and ensure gender equality in decision-making.

Mr. Chairman,                                                                                                                                

CELAC Member States strongly support the mandate of UN Women. We welcome the strengthening of its capacity and experience in achieving its mandate as well as the Entity’s leadership in providing a strong voice for women and girls at all levels. However, we recognize that much remains to be done. The new global challenges represent a new reality that requires coordinated and coherent work at all levels.

Much progress has been made by the international community since the adoption of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, nevertheless, we should keep in mind how far we still are from reaching all those goals and commitments.

Our Community therefore calls on Member States and multilateral organizations, with the participation of all sectors of society, including the private sector, research institutions and social, cultural and political organizations, to build on the progress made, as well as to address the new challenges.

CELAC also advocates for more international dialogue and consensus, as well as enhanced international cooperation, including regional, North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation, in support of national initiatives in developing countries designed to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The CELAC Member States, convinced that the social and economic development of our countries and the achievement of full democracy are possible only in conditions of genuine equality between men and women, look forward to a stand-alone goal, as well as a gender  mainstreaming in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, in order to empower women and achieve gender equity as essential elements for ensuring inclusive public policies aimed at overcoming poverty and achieving the social and economic development of our peoples eliminating, likewise, the historical and structural factors that perpetuate discrimination by reasons of gender.

Thank you.