Celebration of the XIX Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities on Women’s Affairs of MERCOSUR (RMAAM)

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs of Paraguay, with the collaboration of UN Women, the European Union and European programmes under the technical coordination of FIIAPP, Eurosocial+ and Support for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Paraguay, has inaugurated the XIX Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities on Women’s Affairs of MERCOSUR under the Pro Tempore Presidency of Paraguay.  

The RMAAM is the main forum for political coordination between the highest authorities of the institutions responsible for gender equality policies in MERCOSUR member countries. It is a meeting to build and strengthen gender equality policies in the region, as a result of the firm political will of the member countries to deepen the integration process, transcending the commercial dimension and advancing towards the consolidation of democracy. 

During the opening, Paraguay’s Minister of Women, Celina Lezcano, noted that “as countries are recovering, we realise how this pandemic has highlighted and increased inequalities. These challenges have given new dimensions to our work on gender equality and women’s empowerment. What is required today is not only solidarity and global solutions, but also a renewed commitment; there is still much to be done”.

During the first day, several technical round tables were held on Women’s Political Participation, Work and Economic Integration and the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence. The second day was devoted to the Ministerial segment, which dealt with gender budgeting and its strategic role in reducing inequality between men and women.  

The Secretary General of the FIIAPP, Inma Zamora, who participated in the sessions, stressed that “at the FIIAPP we are committed to the power of public policies to close gender gaps in all countries”. 

Among other complementary activities and initiatives, the campaign “Creating a new care” has been presented as part of the process of drawing up the National Care Policy, whose technical body in charge of formulating it is the Inter-institutional Driving Group for the Development of the Care Policy in Paraguay (GIPC), led by MINMUJER.

In addition, the Draft Law that creates the National Care System of Paraguay (SINACUP), establishes policies to guarantee the universal right to care and proposes, among other measures, the progressive access to care services, attending first of all to priority groups: children, adolescents, people in general in a situation of dependency for different reasons, dependent elderly people, people with disabilities in a situation of dependency, as well as the rights of the people who care for them.