As part of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, a Ministerial round table on national mechanisms for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls was held on Wednesday. The Second Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Zonya Rivero López, presented Cuba's progress in implementing policies and programs for gender equality.
In her speech, she highlighted that two years after the IV World Conference on Women, Cuba approved the National Plan of Action for the Follow-up to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, recognizing the responsibility of the State in the implementation of its actions.
"In 2021, we approved a new government program, integrated in a presidential decree, which consolidates actions in line with our Constitution, the economic and social development model and international commitments," said Zonya Rivero López. "This program, with the FMC as the national mechanism, is our roadmap to promote equal rights, opportunities and possibilities."
She affirmed that Cuba has prioritized seven areas of attention and 46 measures to promote gender equality, with significant results in the fight against gender violence and the collection of statistics.
"Since the proclamation of our Constitution in 2019, we have approved 165 legal standards, including the Integral Strategy for Prevention and Attention to Gender Violence and the new Family Code," the Cuban official said.
At the same time, she explained that the creation of the Cuban Observatory for Gender Equality, with reliable and disaggregated information, facilitates informed decision-making on gender equality policies.
Rivero López concluded by saying that the FMC, in collaboration with ministries and institutions, has developed programs for the protection of women, which has made it possible to achieve majority participation in various sectors of society.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations