ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, March 15 2015 – Minister of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development Samantha Marshall, last week represented Antigua and Barbuda as the only CARICOM minister at a High Level side event at the United Nations.
The event was hosted by the Regional Office of UN Women for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Permanent Mission of Ecuador, at the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, on “ National Women’s Machineries and the Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: Experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean”.
Minister Marshall spoke about the actions, achievements and challenges faced by Antigua and Barbuda in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. She highlighted the Caribbean Institute for Women in Leadership (CIWIL), ongoing legislative review of existing laws and acts relating to domestic violence and human trafficking, the significant reduction in mother to child transmission of HIV and the establishment in Antigua of a 24 hour crisis center for support and services to survivors of violence against women.
The panelists included the Vice President of Guatemala, Roxana Baldetti, who presented on her experiences with a Women’s Specific Cabinet. Before the start of the high-level event, Minister Marshall had an opportunity to hold an informal bilateral meeting with the Guatemalan Vice President.
