Santo Domingo. – President Luis Abinader raised this Friday the need to create the conditions for the generation of opportunities, decent jobs, with adequate remuneration that allows the women live with peace and dignity.
The president spoke at the head of the closing ceremony of the IV Ibero-American Conference on Gender: Towards a Latin America Inclusive, Democratic and Sustainable, where he also reiterated his Government’s commitment to continue contributing to the strengthening and empowerment of Dominican women, in order to guarantee them the space they deserve where they can contribute all their abilities for the well-being of the nation.
«I will continue working, within the scope of my competences, for a country where you, dear Dominicans from all over the national territory and from the Dominican communities abroad, can contribute all your abilities, dreams and illusions, for the well-being of our beloved republic,” Abinader said.
President Abinader highlighted as an important step the Ibero-American Initiative to Prevent and Eliminate the Violence Against Women, which is currently chaired by the Dominican Republic, which constitutes the first platform of cooperation Ibero-American organization on the prevention and elimination of violence against women and seeks to become a regional and international benchmark in this area.
He specified that this initiative arises given the magnitude of the phenomenon of violence against women, which has been recognized and addressed by all Ibero-American countries and in the successive Ibero-American Summits since 2005.
For this, he indicated, 6 lines of work have been prioritized: prevention of violence against women; measuring the economic cost of violence against women; prevention and care of violence against women in emergency situations.
Likewise, analysis of the effects of the economic empowerment of women on the risk of incidence of violence; production of data and statistics on violence against women and emerging forms of violence against women.
“We cannot say that we live in free societies or democracies full if 50% of people live under the threat of fear or have their rights limited,” warned President Abinader.
Inclusive, democratic and sustainable Ibero-America
The Head of State considered that the importance of this conference lies in the fact that it has made it possible to discuss and generate agreements that strengthen and lead towards the full participation of women in the construction of an inclusive, democratic and sustainable Ibero-America.
The president explained that women deserve a State that promotes their professional growth, creating opportunities for higher education, and providing support for entrepreneurship.
He stressed that the Dominican Republic assumed, as of April 2021, the Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Ibero-American Conference under the motto “Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America”, thereby consolidating its commitment to promote transitions towards societies focused on the well-being and resilience of people and environmental sustainability.
“We want more inclusive societies, with a higher commitment to equality between women and men, seeking their development and empowerment, which has been reflected in the declarations of the conferences previously held in the Dominican Republic,” said Abinader.
In this sense, the president cited the strengthening of prevention and care services for violence against women, the continuation of the promotion of inclusive policies with gender equality to build the culture of life, from decolonization and depatriarchal approaches towards the full enjoyment of citizenship to cultural and collective human rights.
Likewise, support for the promotion of economic policy mechanisms and tools with a perspective of gender that contribute to reducing poverty in all its dimensions and inequality, closing social gaps and improving access to basic services.
The president said that from the Social Cabinet some 17 months ago he introduced a special subsidy for women affected by violence.
He maintained that the women after being affected by these violent acts “Everything costs him more, really everything in his life, they include a higher cost and need the special support of the State and we have begun to do so with a plan that has given many results,” said President Abinader .
Abinader pointed out that in order to strengthen the Ibero-American system, it is essential to achieve a greater inclusion of women in the different mechanisms that are generated, in the agreements and in the follow-up, which will result in a comprehensive strengthening of the agreements and joint actions of the Ibero-American countries.
Abinader’s support to hold a conference after 11 years
For her part, the Minister for Women, Mayra Jiménez, thanked President Abinader for being the driving force behind this fourth Ibero-American Conference, giving them the support and backing at all levels for its realization and ensuring its realization, after 11 years without taking place. cape.
Jiménez reported that this fourth conference has resulted in the Declaration of Santo Domingo, which shows the commitment of the countries of the region to move towards States with inclusive institutions, as a reflection of the quality of democracy.
Among the main agreements embodied in this declaration, he cited, the adoption of all necessary measures to accelerate the full participation of women in all their diversity, in public positions of political representation and leadership in order to achieve parity.
In the same way, promote equality and the rights of women and girls as a distinctive component of the foreign policy of the Ibero-American States.
and redouble efforts aimed at eradicating gender violence and violence against women in all its manifestations, among other points.
Meanwhile, the Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand, referring to the economic empowerment of women, one of the topics of interest addressed in this conference, highlighted the great commitment that President Abinader has shown in this regard.
The activity was organized by the Dominican Ministry of Women, regarding the pro tempore presidency of the Ibero-American Conference that the country holds until March 2023, as well as by the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and is part of the activities prior to the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government that will also be held in Dominican territory with the motto “Together for a just and sustainable Ibero-America”.
At the event, which was attended by the Vice Minister of Multilateral Foreign Policy of the Dominican Republic and national coordinator for Latin America, Rubén Sillié; as well as delegations from Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Uruguay and Venezuela, spaces were provided to exchange perspectives regarding the main challenges, advances and national and international experiences in relation to democracy and inclusive institutions.
