Latin American and Caribbean Women: Green economy not defined and has no form

By the Rio + 20 Secretariat

The women of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), see clear signs that the road to Rio+20 is just beginning and that it requires enormous work and effort to assure participation of women, which is a fundamental element.

The women of LAC promote a diverse, more equal and equitable development. Enormous challenge exist in the LAC region to achieve respect for human rights and women's rights: sexual and reproductive rights, rights to live a life free from violence and femicide and the right to sustainable development. The right to sustainable development means among others: the right to water, land and natural resources, the right to health and food sovereignty, right to education, science and technology, and finally, the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples and their traditional knowledge. They consider:

- Sustainable development as a holistic concept that values equally the social, economic and environmental as well as equity and equal opportunities, access to justice, information and participation of people.

- Sustainable development as a central objective for the "good life" of human beings and as such States should recognize that to achieve this should they should eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.

The women of the LAC region specifically propose:

1. An evaluation of the implementation of the Rio Principles, Agenda XXI, this time using clear indicators that show evidence of gender differentiation and fairness in general.
2. Ensure access to land, sea and control over natural resources, education, information and access to environmental justice principles and provide social security, reproductive health care and food sovereignty of life of women.
3. The commitment to recognize, respect, value and position the knowledge of women and especially the traditional knowledge of indigenous women. Traditional knowledge on the issues of adaptation, mitigation and biodiversity conservation of indigenous women has to be valued and recognized, and their role as change agents, promoting the good life of indigenous peoples, should be promoted and strengthen.

On the Green Economy:

➢ Women of Latin America and the Caribbean are concerned about the use of the concept of "green economy". They believe that the use of this terminology carries the risk that economic actors, even internationally, to dominate and determine the policies of sustainable development.

➢ The women of the indigenous peoples of this region are concerned about the force with which certain developed countries are fighting for a proposed green economy and institutional frameworks for endorsing. Developing countries are being forced to follow a proposal is not even defined, which has no form, no one knows how it will work. On governance consider that spaces are still lacking broad participation, inclusive, to define what is not defined.

➢ The economic element of sustainable development should be from our view, embracing the elements and values that underpin the recognition of the rights of Mother Earth and good living. These along with the theme of human rights should guide the way with optimism to the next meeting in Rio plus 20.

➢ The women in the LAC region are clear that a vision focused on sustainable development cannot focus solely on an economic agenda, but it must deepen agendas addressing the social, cultural, and environmental policies that have been implemented since the last meeting in Rio in 1992. They raise a clear front against ‘dollarization’ of life, and assure their willingness to work to make the real change that leads to addressing the real issues that we are urgent to change the paradigm of development on our planet including a priority gender considerations.

➢ In the LAC region, women believe that to achieve sustainable development necessarily must pass through the elimination of all gaps of gender discrimination still facing the Latin America and the Caribbean, and it is urgent to think about a comprehensive approach to development where the contribution of women in the region, is recognized, valued and positioned in the proper place.

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