The national strategy for the Generation Equality Forum 2020 was presented today by the Foreign Ministry, the National Institute for Women (INMUJERES), UN Women Mexico and the Embassy of France in Mexico. The event was attended by the diplomatic corps in Mexico and international agencies.
The Generation Equality Forum will kick off in Mexico on May 7-8, 2020 and culminate in Paris two months later on July 7-10 with a Global Forum convened by Mexico and France in collaboration with UN Women and with the leadership and partnership of civil society.
At today's event, the Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Martha Delgado, said that the Generation Equality Forum is an excellent opportunity for the international community to renew its commitment to achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. Mexico stands out in the multilateral arena for its defense and promotion of women's rights, and the forum is an ideal opportunity to strengthen the foundations for constructing a feminist foreign policy in Mexico.
Inmujeres President Nadine Gasman highlighted the strength of the feminist movements and their contribution to the gender equality agenda. She acknowledged that, although progress has been made, women still experience power imbalances and inequality, which is why the Beijing+25 Forum must follow the example of the activism displayed at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) in order to tackle the root causes of inequality. "As governments, this is our chance to make social movements into important actors in the global community and to provide a true platform for equality," she said.
The French ambassador to Mexico, Anne Grillo, said that the Generation Equality Forum demonstrates the commitment of Mexico and France to promoting concrete steps to further gender equality and women's empowerment in both countries and throughout the world. "It is time for the new generations of men and women to be treated as equals, no matter where they live," she said.
Belén Sanz Luque, UN Women representative in Mexico, said the feminist agenda that will be taken to the UN General Assembly in September 2020 will be agreed at the forum. She remarked that “2020 is a pivotal year for advancing women's rights and gender equality because it marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform, the 20th anniversary of United Nations Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, the tenth anniversary of UN Women , and the fifth anniversary of the 2030 Agenda.”
There are several key dates in the lead-up to the Generation Equality Forum. First, during the UN General Assembly on September 23, Mexico and France will officially launch the forum together with UN Women Executive Director Phuzille Mlambo-Ngucka. In March 2020, key challenges to women's rights will be discussed during the sixty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64). The process will then continue in Mexico City, where the most salient gaps will be identified and Action Coalitions will be created to address them. The process will conclude in Paris by agreeing on the agenda and the roadmap that will be taken to the UN General Assembly in September 2020.
The forum will be broadcast live throughout the world via satellite sessions and by using technology that maximizes global participation. The focus of the outcome will be to create partnerships for accelerating the realization of gender equality by sparking a global public conversation that outlines the urgent steps that must be taken and the accountability needed for woment's rights and gender equality. The forum will also celebrate the power of activism, feminist solidarity and youth leadership to achieve transformative change.
With the announcement of the launch in Mexico of the process that will lead to the Generation Equality Forum, everyone is invited to join in and work together to reaffirm the importance of multilateralism in mobilizing governments, civil society and the private sector in order to fulfill the promises of the Beijing Platform for Action and to make gender equality a reality for all women and girls.
