Ms. Alcalde spoke about the 20-year review of the Programme of Action, as it is undergoing rigorous evaluation and review processes through the United Nations. She explained, "There are unfilled obligations from the Cairo Programme of Action that require very concrete actions, many of which pass through legislatures."
In Latin America and the Caribbean, for example, the lack of progress towards reducing rates of youth pregnancy is especially notable, as is the unmet need for contraceptives and its impact on vulnerable groups like poor youth. The region also has the highest incidences of unsafe abortion in the world. Ms. Alcalde pointed out that countless preventable deaths are directly related to the criminalization of women, and not to infrastructure problems. Abortion is illegal under all circumstances in nine countries in the world, seven of which are located in the Americas.
To summarize the opportunities for political leadership to fulfill the ICPD Programme of Action, Ms. Alcalde highlighted the following important roles: establishing national mechanisms of accountability (i.e., oversight of the executive branch), ensuring adequate legal frameworks (especially in terms of gender violence and decriminalization of abortion), assigning budgets, and regional accountability mechanisms for follow up on the region's renewed commitments established under the recent Montevideo Consensus.
"We cannot speak of health solely without speaking about empowerment, about building equality and deconstructing inequalities. Laws on violence, a life free from violence, of perspectives – public policies – that mainstream this."
"More information, more education is needed to break the stereotypes that say that men are the providers and women are in charge of housework. This is something that must be cross-cutting in all government departments, and it should be reflected in how we legislate, in co-responsibility for raising children."