Commitment title:

Strengthening women’s capacity for advocacy in Latin America and the Caribbean for the fulfilment of the Montevideo Consensus in situations of political and humanitarian crisis.

Commitment description:

We consider it a priority to ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is plagued by political instability, democratic breakdowns, social conflicts, human rights violations, and human mobility and migration processes. In accordance with the above, we undertake to form several alliances with organizations and networks both within and outside of the region, including those beyond the women’s health movement, with bodies of the United Nations System, international cooperation agencies, other NGOs and specialist groups, to develop tools to monitor the implementation of international agreements, in particular the Montevideo Consensus and other agreements such as that of Puebla, Mexico (September 2019). We are also committed to promoting the voices and demands of women on national and international stages and supporting government progress on laws, decrees and institutions to promote and protect women’s rights, with emphasis on sexual and reproductive rights, in Latin America and the Caribbean, including freely available, legal, safe and free-of-charge abortion through the implementation of Priority Action 42 of the Montevideo Consensus, which recommends that states “consider amending their laws and regulations on the voluntary termination of pregnancy in order to protect the lives and health of women; and review the regulations regarding the refusal of professionals to provide abortion services due to their personal beliefs” (conscientious objection).

Mode of engagement:
  • Policy and guidance
    Construcción de alianzas entre organizaciones y redes regionales e internacionales. Producción de conocimiento y transferencia de información de procesos globales y regionales para el fortalecimiento de la capacidad de incidencia a nivel nacional.
Commitment to be actioned in: Americas
Submitted from: Americas
Submitted by
Red de Salud de las Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe - RSMLAC
Thematic area
Uphold the right to sexual and reproductive health care in humanitarian and fragile contexts
Commitment category

(12) Ensuring that the basic humanitarian needs and rights of affected populations, especially that of girls and women, are addressed as critical components of responses to humanitarian and environmental crises, as well as fragile and post-crisis reconstruction contexts, through the provision of access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, education and services, including access to safe abortion services to the full extent of the law, and post-abortion care, to significantly reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, sexual and gender-based violence and unplanned pregnancies under these conditions.