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On November 21, the PASC Program participated in the Thematic Consultation on the Rights of Adolescent Girls and Girls organized by the United Nations Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls. This working group was created during the 15th session of the Human Rights Council in September 2010 and is tasked with defining, promoting and exchanging views, in consultation with States and other actors, on best practices regarding the elimination of laws that discriminate against women. The Group is also tasked with engaging in dialogue with States and other actors on laws that have discriminatory effects that may affect women and girls, including through thematic resolutions or reports.
In this case, the Working Group is preparing a thematic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2022 on the rights of adolescent girls and boys. That is why two women members of the group: Alda Facio (Costa Rica) and Ivana Radacic (Croatia) facilitated this regional consultation, in order to obtain input on the situation faced by girls and adolescent girls in Latin America, the main challenges for the elimination of discrimination against them and to identify good practices and initiatives, including the contributions made by girls.
Different United Nations agencies in Mexico participated in the consultation, as well as several national and regional civil society organizations. Four young human rights and women’s and girls’ rights activists from different countries (Mexico, Colombia and Barbados) also participated.
On behalf of the PASC Program, our regional gender advisor participated in the first panel, aimed at identifying the main challenges related to the elimination of discrimination against girls and adolescent girls in LAC. The opportunity was taken to share the findings obtained in two of the studies promoted this year by PASC: Public Investment in Girls and Girls in Mobility, also providing an overview of the main challenges faced by girls in the region based on the experience of the Program’s partner organizations, and the main conclusions on the subject that were given in the framework of the annual PASC Workshop. The contributions were very well received by the rapporteurs, who hope that they will be taken into account as input for their work, as well as for joint reflection with the other organizations present at the consultation.
Participation in these spaces for construction and reflection are of great importance to inform at regional and global level about the challenges, but also about the good practices that are identified from the work of civil society organizations, supporting the joint effort to build more egalitarian societies.
