Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Specialized Agencies and Other United Nations Bodies on the Advancement of Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (OEM27) was held as part of the preparatory roadmap toward the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held from 12 to 15 August in Mexico City. 

On 10 April 2025, the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Specialized Agencies and Other United Nations Bodies on the Advancement of Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (OEM27) was held as part of the preparatory roadmap toward the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held from 12 to 15 August in Mexico City. The meeting was organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in its role as Technical Secretariat, in coordination with UN Women and under the leadership of the Government of Mexico as the host country of the Conference.

During the opening session, Ana Güezmes García, Director of the Division for Gender Affairs of ECLAC, noted that the main objective of the meeting was to present the progress made in the position paper “The Care Society: Governance, Political Economy and Social Dialogue for a Transformation with Gender Equality”, and to gather inputs and priorities from the specialized agencies. She underscored that this is a historic moment —50 years since the First World Conference on Women (1975) and 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action (1995)— and emphasized the urgent need to accelerate collective action to move toward substantive equality. She also referred to the challenging regional context, marked by the three development traps identified by ECLAC: low growth capacity, high inequality, and weak institutions, all of which intersect with the structural challenges of gender inequality, including the feminization of poverty and the care crisis.

In her intervention, María-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director of UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean, highlighted the transformative potential of the care society paradigm. She emphasized that the Feminist Forum and the Parliamentary Forum —which will precede the XVI Conference— will be strategic spaces for articulation. She also called for increased contributions to the Regional Fund to Support Woof men and Feminist Organizations and Movements, to bolster their action and participation across the region.

Citlalli Hernández Mora, Secretary of Women of Mexico, participated via a recorded message and reiterated the commitment of Mexico, as host country, to holding a participatory, pluralistic and transformative Conference.

Lucía Scuro, Senior Social Affairs Officer of the Division for Gender Affairs of ECLAC, presented the content of the position paper, which is structured in five chapters: a multilevel approach to care; care as a right, a need, and work that drives the economy; care policies and their articulation with other public policies; a forward-looking perspective to anticipate future scenarios; and key elements for driving a paradigm shift toward the care society. The document incorporates lessons from past processes, proposals from agencies and civil society, and emphasizes interdependence, co-responsibility, financing and the role of States as guarantors of the right to care.

In the segment dedicated to the roadmap, Gabriela Rivadeneira, Director-General for Technical Cooperation of the Secretariat of Women of Mexico, announced that the Conference will be held in Tlatelolco, where the First World Conference on Women took place 50 years ago. She outlined the logistical preparations, the promotion of side events, and support for self-managed forums. She emphasized the need to build broad regional dialogue and project alliances from the local level.

Ana Güezmes, Director of the Division for Gender Affairs of ECLAC, presented the roadmap of the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean and explained the planned organization of the sessions. She indicated that the agenda will include the presentation of the position paper and dialogue with delegations, as well as spaces to receive contributions from civil society, the Parliamentary Forum and the Feminist Forum. She noted that a high-level intergovernmental dialogue on the central theme of the Conference is planned, along with the relaunch of the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean. She also noted that the programme includes a segment titled “Memory and Future,” which will serve as a space for regional reflection in the context of the 50th anniversary of the First World Conference on Women and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, followed by the adoption of agreements and the closing session.

Cecilia Alemany, Deputy Regional Director of UN Women, referred to the strengthening of the Feminist Forum, the opportunities presented by holding a Parliamentary Forum for the second time, and the importance of including civil society representatives in national delegations. She also called for securing a new round of financing for the Regional Fund to Support Women’s and Feminist Organizations.

Throughout the day, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and other development cooperation partners actively participated with comments and substantive contributions. The ILO highlighted care work as a strategic investment and introduced a comprehensive approach that links this agenda with demographic, climate and technological transitions. UNDP stressed the importance of integrating the concepts of diversity and territorial heterogeneity, as well as the impacts of artificial intelligence on care. FAO recognized the central role of care in the empowerment and autonomy of rural women and the need for systems adapted to local contexts. UNICEF emphasized the need to deepen the intergenerational approach by highlighting the care burden faced by girls and adolescents and its impact on their overall development, education and labour prospects.

UNFPA highlighted generational and intersectional approaches and emphasized the links between care, early unions and inequalities throughout the life cycle. IOM addressed the care burden faced by migrant women, shared good legislative practices, and reaffirmed its commitment to the upcoming Regional Conference. OHCHR contributed a human rights perspective, incorporating an intersectional lens with a focus on women with disabilities and older women. UNAIDS linked the right to health with the right to care and raised concerns about late diagnoses among Indigenous women, particularly in the context of HIV.

At the close of the meeting, Ana Güezmes reaffirmed that the Conference will serve as an opportunity to agree on commitments for action to redistribute care work, ensure financing, and respond to demographic, climate and social challenges. The Director of the Division for Gender Affairs of ECLAC stressed that the care society is a collective construction that requires multi-actor, multilevel action and territorial articulation, and she expressed gratitude for the commitment of the participating agencies.

This meeting reaffirmed the role of the Specialized Agencies for the Advancement of Women, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as strategic partners and development cooperation organizations, in implementing the Regional Gender Agenda and building a joint response to the care crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean. The path toward the XVI Conference continues to gather voices, proposals and alliances to move toward a more just future, with gender equality and the sustainability of life at its core.