Regional report on the review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action...
Chapter V
CHAPTER V The challenges of implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, between now and 2030 A. The challenges of guaranteeing women’s rights in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in Latin American and Caribbean countries Twenty-five years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, significant progress has been made in the recognition of women’s rights and autonomy, and in the reduction of gender inequalities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nonetheless, these advances in the different dimensions of women’s autonomy have been slow and uneven. Furthermore, they have not been consistent, and obstacles remain which limit the scope of equality policies and their impact on the improvement of the living conditions of women and girls in the region. The Montevideo Strategy for Implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda within the Sustainable Development Framework by 2030 is the regional instrument for expediting the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, in synergy with the Regional Gender Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It recognizes the universal, indivisible, inalienable and interdependent nature of the economic, social, cultural, sexual and reproductive rights of women, as well as their civil, political and collective rights. The challenges arising from the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action are presented in line with the women’s human rights dimensions expressed in the Montevideo Strategy. These dimensions are re-examined, and problems relating to the conditions required for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action by 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean are analysed.
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Right to a life free of violence and discrimination
The adoption of overarching strategies for the elimination of gender-based violence against women is one of the most significant institutional advances in the past five years. At least 17 countries have developed national policies or plans against violence.1 Also in this time period, some countries have continued to develop comprehensive laws on violence against women, such as Peru (2015), Paraguay (2016), Uruguay (2017) and Ecuador (2018). Nonetheless, challenges relating to the effective implementation of these laws and regulations remain. Access to justice and mechanisms for prevention, care and protection geared towards victims are still limited and the fight against femicide is a major challenge. In addition, the failure to prioritize these policies in budgets sometimes results in partial and insufficient implementation of regulations. Figures on violence against women and femicide are still a matter of great concern for the region. There is an urgent need for the enforcement of laws and policies and the adoption of a broad range of preventative, punitive, protective and support measures to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls.
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Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Saint Lucia and Uruguay.
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