3rd International Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies to be hosted by Mexico

By Kenneth Ayala Navarro and Nayeli Ceceña Alvarez

31 May 2024

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Alicia Barcena Ibarra, announced during the United Nations' CSW68 in March this year, that Mexico will host the 3rd International Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies in July 2024 (photo: Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs website https://rb.gy/gya3bu)
 

Mexico has long been a promoter of gender equality at all levels, including at international and regional fora. In 1975, the 1st Women’s International Conference was hosted by Mexico and, in Multilateral fora, Mexican representatives have always advocated for key issues supporting women’s autonomy, such as the eradication and prevention of all types of violence against women.

The Government of Mexico launched its Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) in January 2020 as a set of principles aiming to guide, through Foreign Policy, government actions to reduce and eliminate gender structural differences, gaps and inequalities in order to build a more just and prosperous society. This made Mexico the first country in the global South to adopt such kind of policy.

In 2021, France and Mexico co-hosted, along with UN Women, the Generation Equality Forum, which launched a 5-year action agenda through the Global Acceleration Plan for gender equality, which defines the most critical actions necessary to accelerate progress in this significant matter.

Since 2023, Germany, The Netherlands, Chile, Colombia and Belgium joined the list of countries that have adopted a Feminist Foreign Policy, including Canada (which adopted a Feminist International Assistance Policy in 2017), France (2019), Mexico (2020), Spain (2021) and Luxembourg (2021). 

Against the backdrop of the current global momentum, as well as the results of the two previous International Conferences on FFP, held in Germany (2022) and the Netherlands (2023), Mexico will host the Third International Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies on 1-3 July of 2024. 

Under the theme “The Future of Feminist Foreign Policies”, the main purpose of the Conference is to have a space for dialogue in which stakeholders committed to the principles of gender equality, non-discrimination and elimination of gender-based violence, discuss current policies and strategies on gender equality in foreign policy, identifying good practices and lessons learned, analyzing the main challenges that hinder the egalitarian progress abroad, and proposing innovative solutions on the thematic issues that are addressed in the Future Pact to be proposed within the framework of the United Nations. 

Additionally, this Conference is an opportunity to promote multilateralism, open spaces for dialogue and promote cooperation with countries that, through the adoption of a FFP or feminist cooperation policies, are committed to equality, the empowerment of women and girls, and the protection and defense of their rights, which allows us to bring to global fora a progressive agenda, with a greater impact on gender equality. 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico recently created, within its structure, a Coordination Unit on FFP, which focuses on five courses of action: Foreign policy with gender perspective and feminist foreign agenda Plus; Gender parity within the Ministry; Eradication of gender-based violence; Substantive equality; and Intersectionality.

Therefore, Mexico’s FFP entails the implementation of a gender perspective in all areas and actions of foreign policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

With more than 150 Representation offices around the world, including Embassies, Consulates and Missions, Mexico has, as an example of applied gender perspective, followed a policy of zero-tolerance to harassment and gender-based violence, and has created and implemented mechanisms to prevent and assist victims of such violence.

Consular assistance has been a significant pillar in Mexico’s Foreign Policy. And, even though some initiatives of the Ministry such as the Consular Protection Protocol for victims of gender-based violence or the Comprehensive Assistance for Women Policy (VAIM in its Spanish acronym), were created before the adoption of Mexico’s FFP, today they fit within its’ vision and goals and are deployed throughout the Mexican consular network worldwide. As a whole, these initiatives serve as tools to support Mexican migrant women and girls in recipient countries and provide them with assistance with a gender perspective.

As one of many examples of Mexico’s FFP discourse put into practice, we have the VAIM, which main objective is to comprehensively empower migrant women –especially those in a vulnerable situation such as indigenous women, people with disabilities, members of the LGTBQ+ community, etc.– in order to promote their integral development and self-improvement, that is, to increase their degree of autonomy in the personal, family, economic, work, and social areas. The VAIM provides care and services in various areas, with the most common services being assisting victims of violence and providing legal advice services on immigration matters. As part of the VAIM, consulates have also identified information about associations, groups and institutions that can support various topics, such as psychological and emotional therapies, healthcare, language learning, and financial advice. 

The activity of the Comprehensive Assistance for Women Policy goes beyond the operation of a specific space within the Consulate, as it is a transversal concept that communicates all the services offered by consular representations from a gender perspective. In some instances, VAIM collaborates with the departments of community and economic affairs to offer gender-violence survivors the opportunity to undergo training for professional licensing or to start their own business, turning into incubators of well-being.

Although each Consulate has adjusted its VAIM to the reality experienced by its community and the resources available in each constituency, the operation reflects the commitment of the Mexican Foreign Ministry and the consular network to offer protection that puts Mexicans at the center of actions and of public policies; with particular focus on recognizing the importance of women in an environment free from violence, as subjects of law and as agents of change in their family contexts, as well as in their communities.

Therefore, in congruence with its FFP, Mexico takes action in promoting gender equality through a cross-cutting and intersectional manner across all areas of foreign policy.

We will, thus, give a warm welcome to all participants in the upcoming 3rd International Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies in Mexico next July and we look forward to the outcomes which will surely contribute to advancing in gender equality for more just societies worldwide.

Kenneth Ayala Navarro is the Consular, Economic and Commercial Affairs officer at the Embassy of Mexico in South Africa.

Nayeli Ceceña Alvarez is the Cooperation, Cultural and Media officer at the Embassy of Mexico in South Africa.


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