CARICOM Gender Officials Reaffirm Commitment to Gender Equality, Strengthened Access to Justice, and Inclusive Development at UN Women-UNECLAC Pre-CSW70 Convening

(L to R, top): Sarah Douglas - UN Women Deputy Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda - UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Isiuwa Iyahen - Deputy Representative and Head of Office a.i., UN Women Multi-Country Office - Caribbean, Akilah Dorris - Planning and Coordination Specialist, UN Women MCO - Caribbean, Daniel Leon - Associate Social Affairs Officer, UN ECLAC
(L to R, bottom): Petal Rush - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development, Housing, and Community Empowerment in Grenada, Sharon Coburn Robinson - Principal Director of the Jamaica Bureau of Gender Affairs, Kemoloy Murphy - National Focal Point for Gender Development, Gender Affairs Unit in Anguilla

Caribbean countries are demonstrating leadership in revising laws, expanding income and social protection for the most economically vulnerable, and strengthening child and elder care support. These commitments help ensure that women and men have the time and stability needed to pursue full-time employment. This is exactly the kind of action required to move the gender equality agenda forward.

Isiuwa Iyahen, Deputy Representative and Head of Office a.i. reminded that the #CSW70 priority theme is aimed at ensuring and strengthening access to justice, by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems to ensure de facto equality and not just de jure, eliminating discriminatory laws policies, and practices, and addressing the structural barriers that persists.

“Climate shocks due to disasters continue to widen access to gaps in the justice system and increase the risk of violence and exclusion. Access to justice is central to equality. It is central to the protection from violence. It is central to trust in institutions” Ms Iyahen stressed.

Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, UN Women Deputy Executive Director told the meeting of CARICOM Ministers with responsibility for Gender, permanent secretaries and heads of gender machinery that the upcoming #CSW70 is about defining solutions together.

“We are also looking forward to how the agreed conclusions would move us from formal equality in our statutes, in our legal instruments, in our policies to substantive equality, to substantive enjoyment of those rights, to substantive protection of those rights, to understanding the barriers that limit access to justice”.

Sarah Douglas, UN Women Deputy Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean highlighted: “The region's ability to work collaboratively through CARICOM has consistently strengthened its influence in global norm-setting processes and spaces. A unified Caribbean voice is essential to protect hard-won commitments on gender equality and ensuring that the realities of small island-developing states are reflected in the global outcomes”.

“Our collective voice carries greater weight when we approach CSW with shared priorities, aligned messaging, and a clear regional perspective grounded in our lived realities as small island developing states. Together, we can advocate more effectively for justice systems that are survivor-centred, accessible, responsive, and grounded in human rights”, said Petal Rush, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development, Housing, and Community Empowerment – Grenada (CARICOM PRs Chair to the UN).

Daniel Leon, Associate Social Affairs Officer, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) stressed that care work has a very gendered impact particularly on women. “It is very important to gather quality and timely data, especially gender disaggregated data, to understand where the gaps are and how can we advance towards a care society that allows for a truly inclusive and sustainable development”.

Principal Director of the Jamaica Bureau of Gender Affairs Sharon Coburn Robinson, and Ms. Kemoloy Murphy Gender Development Coordinator – Anguilla Gender Affairs Unit were among the senior CARICOM government representatives presenting official positions.