Haiti – Politic : Interventions by Minister Pédrica Saint Jean at the 16th session of CEPLAC
15/08/2025 10:40:53
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As part of the 16th session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPLAC), taking place from August 12 to 15 in Mexico City, Pédrica Saint Jean, Minister for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights, presented an overview of the general situation of women in Haiti, reviewed the considerable progress made in the area of women’s rights, and the related challenges, particularly in the health sector.
The Minister said she was speaking with deep conviction and solemn responsibility to reaffirm Haiti’s unwavering commitment to gender equality. According to her, “women are the invisible pillars of the informal economy, the guardians of community resilience, the voices too often stifled in decision-making circles.” Faced with this reality, she wants to reverse the situation. “Today, we reject invisibility.” “We demand a reshaping of power relations in the state, in the economy, in culture, and in our relationship with the environment,” she insisted, advocating for the guarantee, protection, and active promotion of women’s rights.
To demonstrate the Government’s commitment to working to reduce or even eliminate gender-based social inequalities, she cited the “Gender Equality Policy 2014–2034” adopted by the Haitian State, which constitutes an ambitious strategic framework aimed at transforming gender relations in the country and promoting a more just and inclusive society.
With this in mind, Haiti’s commitment is structured around three major, complementary, and inseparable pillars:
• Strengthening protection mechanisms against gender-based violence by ensuring expanded access to essential services, justice, and psychosocial support adapted to the realities on the ground;
• Integrate gender equality into public governance and economic policies, particularly through budget planning, recovery programs, and inclusive recovery initiatives;
• Establish a permanent and structured social dialogue with women’s organizations, youth, and local authorities, in order to jointly develop sustainable, inclusive policies rooted in the real needs of communities.
The Minister also discussed the programs and projects implemented to support displaced women severely affected by urban armed conflicts, which exacerbate their vulnerability. To this end, she highlighted the implementation of the socio-economic reintegration project for women and child mothers, which aims to train them in sectors traditionally reserved for men in seven departments of the country, with funding from the Public Treasury. She noted that the Ministry has also initiated a cycle of local, departmental, and national consultations to meaningfully integrate the gender perspective into the preliminary draft of the constitutional amendment.
In glowing terms focused on the resilience of Haitian women, Minister Saint Jean stated that the Ministry is committed to making changes related to the potential of these women part of a national dynamic, in conjunction with women’s movements, institutions, and communities. The Minister was clear in concluding, “We don’t just want gender-sensitive public policies. We want transformative policies that deconstruct inequalities at their roots, that value women’s knowledge, that protect women’s bodies and rights, and that pave the way for a society where equality is not an exception, but the norm.”
S/ HaitiLibre
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