Ministers and senior authorities from national women’s advancement mechanisms in the region will participate on December 4-5, 2024, in the Sixty-sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will be held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.

This meeting – which has become a critical space for evaluating the region’s progress on gender equality and women’s autonomy – is being organized by ECLAC, in its capacity as Secretariat of the Conference, in coordination with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

The inauguration will take place on Wednesday, December 4, at 10:00 a.m. local time in Chile (GMT-3). It will be led by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, and Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, and UN Women's Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results.

During this two-day event, delegations will review the preparatory activities for the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will be held in Mexico in 2025 and which will address “Transformations in the Political, Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Spheres to Promote the Care Society and Gender Equality.”

At this intergovernmental gathering in Mexico, participants will discuss how building a care society can offer a transformative response to the crises the region is facing, promoting more productive, inclusive, and sustainable development, where care policies serve as the engine for reducing gender inequalities and enhancing social well-being.

At the 66th Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference, a special regional consultation session before the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women will be held, in the framework of a commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the approval of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995).

In that context, Ana Güezmes García, Director of ECLAC’s Division for Gender Affairs, will present the document Action for equality, development and peace in Latin America and the Caribbean: draft regional report on the review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 30 years after its adoption in synergy with the implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda.

At the meeting, participants will also present reports on the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (GEO), which is a key tool for monitoring progress on the Regional Gender Agenda, and the Regional Fund in Support of Women’s and Feminist Organizations and Movements.

WHAT: Sixty-sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

WHEN: Wednesday and Thursday, December 4-5, 2024.

WHO: Ministers and senior authorities from national women’s advancement mechanisms and other government authorities from ECLAC’s Member States, along with representatives of the United Nations and other international organizations, academia, and civil society.

WHERE: ECLAC’s main headquarters in Santiago, Chile (Av. Dag Hammarsköld 3477, Vitacura). Raúl Prebisch conference room.

Virtual connection via several platforms:

• Special site for streaming: https://live.cepal.org/MDCRM/
• Official account on X: https://x.com/cepal_onu
• Official account on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cepal.onu