High-level Dialogue: ‘Foundations for a Bi-Regional Pact of Care between Latin America, the
Caribbean and the European Union’
Concept note and preliminary programme
Background and context
In a context of multiple crises, deepening of structural nodes of gender inequality and persistent
gaps between men and women in the labour market, in access to decent employment and to social
protection and social security systems, the care agenda is occupying an increasingly relevant place
in the international debate. Moreover, with a growing demand for care, the allocation of almost
all domestic and care work to women and the insufficient supply of care services, it is urgent to
advance in policies to ensure gender co-responsibility and between the State, the market, families,
and communities.
Several European Union (EU) and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) member states have made
commitments to take steps towards a new social organisation of care that incorporates care as a
fundamental pillar of well-being and as a driver of socio-economic recovery to successfully
overcome poverty and social and gender inequalities. In September 2022, the European
Commission presented the European Care Strategy and the recommendations on early childhood
education and care services and the access to long-term care adopted in December 2022 at the
European Council, setting out an agenda to improve the situation of both carers and people in
need of care. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean adopted the Buenos Aires
Commitment in November 2022 at the 15th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and
the Caribbean, recognising care as a right of people to care, to be cared for and to exercise self-
care, including measures to overcome the sexual division of labour and move towards a fair social
organisation of care.
These shared commitments have motivated governments and parliaments from both regions,
international organisations, civil society and academic organisations and institutions that have
accompanies the bi-regional dialogue process to propose a “Bi-regional Pact for Care” between
LAC and the EU, which would aim to promote cooperation on public policies and comprehensive
systems of care among the countries of both regions and in multilateral fora.
Ideas about the pact started to circulate during the EU-LAC Gender Equality Forum held in Berlin
in May 2023, convened by the EU-LAC Foundation and partners1. At this Forum, the EU-LAC
Foundation, together with the governments of Mexico, Argentina, Spain, and Germany committed
to promoting the pact initiative. Subsequently, and prior to the EU-CELAC Summit, during the EU-
LAC Forum: Partners in Change held in Brussels in July 2023, the pact proposal was promoted in
the declaration of organisations, networks, civil society platforms and trade unions from both
regions.
1
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and
Cooperation of Spain; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina; and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.
With the support of:
Co-funded by
the European Union
At the EU-CELAC Summit held in Brussels on 17 and 18 July 2023, the Heads of State and
Government committed themselves to “fighting multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination
and gender based violence, and to promoting fundamental labour principles and rights and ILO core
labour standards and conventions of decent work for all, gender equality, full and equal
representation and participation of all women and girls in decision-making processes, rights of
indigenous peoples as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, rights of the
child, human rights defenders, and the rights of persons in situations of vulnerability and people of
African descent, full and equal representation and participation of all women and girls in decision-
making processes, the rights of indigenous peoples as reflected in the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the rights of the child, the rights of human rights defenders, and the
rights of persons in vulnerable situations and indigenous peoples. Afro-descendants”2.
At the legislative level, the pact proposal has been taken up by the Euro-Latin American
Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat), in its commitment to advance gender equality during the 15th
Ordinary Plenary Session held in Madrid in July 2023 and in paragraph 35 of the Declaration of the
Executive Bureau, which took place in Santo Domingo in October 2023.
Finally, in October 2023, the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin
America and the Caribbean3, at its 65th Meeting, as part of their agreements, decided to
“(e)ncourage the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, in coordination with
the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the EU-LAC
Foundation, to advance a bi-regional pact for care between Latin America and the Caribbean and the
European Union, with a view to promoting cooperation among the countries of both regions on
comprehensive care policies and systems with a gender perspective, in the framework of the
implementation of the Buenos Aires Commitment and the European Care Strategy, and fostering
cooperation initiatives in this area with other regions of the world”4.
High-level dialogue
The member states of the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean share common
challenges to develop universal care policies and systems that include the provision of quality,
affordable and accessible care services from early childhood and in the long term, as well as
ensuring decent working conditions and quality employment of caregivers.
Against this backdrop and taking advantage of the presence of authorities and representatives of
EU member states and Latin American and Caribbean countries in New York on the occasion of the
sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), the EU-LAC Foundation,
UN Women and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in
association with the Global Alliance for Care, the National Institute for Women of Mexico
(INMUJERES), and United National Development Programme (UNDP) are convening a high-level
2
See paragraph 9 Declaration of the 2023 EU-CELAC Summit:
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-12000-2023-INIT/en/pdf
3
The Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean is an
intergovernmental body on women's rights and gender equality in the region. ECLAC is the Secretariat of
the Presiding Officers. The meetings of the Presiding Officers are organised by ECLAC in coordination with
the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
4
See Paragraph 7 of the Agreements of the Sixty-fifth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional
Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean
https://www.cepal.org/sites/default/files/events/files/23-00947_mdm.65_agreements_adopted.pdf
meeting aimed at joining efforts to promote this Bi-regional Pact for Care between Latin America
and the Caribbean and the European Union.
Guiding questions for dialogue
During the meeting, we want to provide a space for the authorities and representatives of the EU
and LAC countries present to exchange, through short interventions, their perspectives on the
initiative for closer cooperation between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union
related to care, based on the different elements contemplated in the Bi-regional Pact for Care.
Participants in the dialogue will be asked to prepare their interventions considering the following
guiding questions:
Questions for government representatives
Despite the diversity that exists in the approach and design of care systems between European, Latin
American, and Caribbean countries, what could be, from your perspective, a common agenda, and
shared needs?
How can your government promote the Bi-regional Pact for Care between Latin America and
the Caribbean and the European Union and promote joint actions between both regions?
What areas do you see as priorities for your government in the implementation of a Bi-
regional Pact for Care and how could your country contribute?
What, from your perspective, could be the next steps in view of the next CELAC-EU Summit
to be held in 2025 in Colombia? What are the challenges and opportunities to advance this
proposal?
Questions for representatives of International Organisations
How can international organisations cooperate with the development of the Bi-regional Pact
for Care between Latin America and the Caribbean and promote joint actions between both
regions? What are the challenges and opportunities to advance this proposal?
How could the Bi-regional Pact for Care become an element of the agenda of international
cooperation and multilateral instruments - in view, for example, of the agenda of the "Summit
of the Future" to be held at the United Nations in September 2024?
Questions for civil society
How can civil society contribute to the development of the Bi-regional Pact for Care between
Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, what are the challenges and opportunities to
advance this proposal?
What, from your perspective, could be the next steps to ensure that the Bi-regional Pact for
Care acquires the importance it deserves in view of the next CELAC-EU Summit to be held in
2025 in Colombia?
Expected results
• Offer a space for open dialogue between authorities from EU member states and CELAC
countries to disseminate the proposal and the contents that a Bi-Regional Pact for Care
could contain;
• Discuss ideas on how interested countries could accompany the process to promote the
Pact and achieve a stronger commitment to its implementation vis-á-vis the CELAC-EU
Summit to be held in Colombia in 2025 and the Regional Conference on Women of Latin
America and the Caribbean which will take place in Mexico;
• Listen to proposals of civil society, of international organisations and alliances that can
contribute to the Pact;
• Agree on the next steps.
Tentative schedule
Date & hour: 14 March de 2024 // 09:30-11:30 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time, EST)
Venue: Instituto Cervantes, 211 East 49th Street. New York, NY 10017
Format: face-to-face
High-level Dialogue:
‘Foundations for a Bi-Regional Pact of Care between Latin
America, the Caribbean and the European Union’
Welcome Representative of the institution hosting the meeting 09:30-
remarks Leire Pajín, President of the EU-LAC 09:55
EU representative
PPT CELAC representative
Global Alliance for Care representative
Presentation of Maria Noel Vaeza - Regional Director of UN Women for Latin 09:55-
the proposal of America and the Caribbean 10:10
the Bi-regional
Pact for Care Ana Güezmes - Director of the Division for Gender Affairs of ECLAC
Open dialogue Moderation: Leire Pajín, President of the EU-LAC Foundation 10:10-11:20
among
participants Interventions by:
Representatives of Latin American and Caribbean countries and
Member states of the European Union
Representatives of multilateral organisations
Civil society
Recapitulation Leire Pajín, President of the EU-LAC Foundation 11:20-
of ideas and 11:30
next steps
Saatja: "Leire Pajin Iraola" <
[email protected]>
Saaja: "SM Info", "SOM Pressiesindajad", "Signe Riisalo"
Teema: Invitation to High level Dialogue about Care, 14.03.2024 - CSW 68
Kuupäev: 2024-02-14 15:53
Distinguished Minister,
Please receive cordial greetings from the EU-LAC Foundation.
Herewith we would like to extend a cordial invitation to participate in
the High-Level Dialogue “Foundations for a Bi-Regional Pact of Care
between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union”, which is
organised by the EU-LAC Foundation, ECLAC, UN Women, in partnership with
the National Institute of Women of Mexico, the Global Alliance for Care
and UNDP. This in-person event will take place on 14 March 2024 at
09:30-11:30 (EST) at the Instituto Cervantes in New York (211 East 49th
Street).
This dialogue’s objectives are to:
* Offer a space for open dialogue between authorities from EU member
states and CELAC countries to disseminate the proposal and the contents
that a Bi-Regional Pact for Care could contain;
* Discuss ideas on how interested countries could accompany the process
to promote the Pact and achieve a stronger commitment to its
implementation vis-á-vis the CELAC-EU Summit to be held in Colombia in
2025 and the Regional Conference on Women of Latin America and the
Caribbean which will take place in Mexico;
* Listen to proposals of civil society, of international organisations
and alliances that can contribute to the Pact.
Please find the invitation letter, the concept note and the tentative
agenda in the attachment.
I would be grateful if you could confirm your participation until 20
February 2024 with Dr Anna Barrera, Director of Programmes at the EU-LAC
Foundation (
[email protected]) and Marta Castro, consultant for
the EU-LAC Women's International Network (
[email protected]).
Kind regards, un saludo cordial, mit freundlichen Grüßen,
On behalf of the President | A nombre de la Presidenta
EU-LAC FOUNDATION | FUNDACIÓN EU-LAC
ABC Straße 2
20354 Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 40 80 60 11 450
Website: www.eulacfoundation.org
SC012/01-2024
Hamburg, 14 February, 2024
Distinguished Minister,
We are pleased to greet you and extend a cordial invitation to participate in the High- Level
Dialogue “Foundations for a Bi-Regional Pact of Care between Latin America, the Caribbean
and the European Union”, which is organised by the EU-LAC Foundation, ECLAC, UN
Women, in partnership with the National Institute of Women of Mexico, the Global Alliance
for Care and UNDP. This in-person event will take place on 14 March 2024 at 09:30-11:30 (EST)
at the Instituto Cervantes in New York (211 East 49th Street).
The objective of the high-level dialogue is to provide a space for authorities and country
representatives to exchange their perspectives on a proposal for closer cooperation
between the two regions in the field of care, based on different elements such as technical
cooperation, studies and analysis, and policy dialogue.
The dialogue is convened in the context of the 68th session of the Commission on the Status
of Women (CSW68), taking advantage of the presence of representatives of the EU Member
States, the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries in New York.
It would be an honour for us to count on your participation in this dialogue. Your
contributions would be greatly appreciated in this discussion, which will be of significant
importance to disseminate the proposal and the contents that the Pact could contain, as well
as to agree on the next steps to advance towards the inclusion of the Pact in the agenda of
the next EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State to be held in Colombia in 2025.
We invite you to prepare a short intervention of no more than five minutes in English or
Spanish for the opening dialogue session moderated by Ms Leire Pajín, President of the EU-
LAC Foundation, focusing on the following guiding questions:
• Despite the diversity that exists in the approach and design of care systems between
European, Latin American and Caribbean countries, what could be, from your
perspective, a common agenda and shared needs?
• How can your government promote the Bi-regional Pact for Care between Latin America
and the Caribbean and the European Union and promote joint actions between both
regions?
• What areas do you see as priorities for your government in the implementation of a bi-
regional Pact for Care and how could your country contribute?
• What, from your perspective, could be the next steps in view of the next CELAC-EU
Summit scheduled to take place in 2025 in Colombia? What are the challenges and
opportunities to advance this proposal?
For more information you can find the concept note and the tentative agenda in the
attachment.
I would be grateful if you could confirm your participation until 20 February 2024 with my
colleagues Dr Anna Barrera, Director of Programmes at the EU-LAC Foundation
(
[email protected] ) and Marta Castro, consultant for the EU-LAC Women's
International Network (
[email protected] ), who can also answer any questions
related to this event.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Leire Pajín Iraola
President
EU-LAC Foundation
EU-LAC FOUNDATION – ABC-Strasse 2, 20354 Hamburg, Germany - Tel: +4940 80 60 11 452
www.eulacfoundation.org