OEA - CP - Resolución CP INF 10844 add 1

OEA/Ser.G CP/INF.10844/26 add. 1 11 February 2026

Original: Spanish

CONCEPT NOTE

COMMEMORATION OF THE DAY OF THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAS:

“WOMEN’S ECONOMIC RIGHTS AS A KEY TO DEVELOPMENT”

(Regular meeting of the Permanent Council, February 18, 2026) [Document presented by the Permanent Missions of Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay]

PERMANENT COUNCILPERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE

TO THE

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

No. 28/26 The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Chile to the Organization of American States (OAS), on behalf of itself and of the Permanent Missions of Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay, presents its compliments to the honorable Chair of the Permanent Council , and respectfully elaborates on the request for the inclusion of the commemoration of the Day of the Women of the Americas on the order of business of the Permanent Council’s regular meeting scheduled for February 18, 2026, by submitting the corresponding concept note for distribution to the member states. The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Chile to the OAS avails itself of this opportunity to reassure the honorable Chair of the Permanent Council of its highest consideration. Washington, D.C., February 11, 2026 To the Chair of the Permanent Council Organization of American States Washington, D.C.3

CONCEPT NOTE

COMMEMORATION OF THE DAY OF THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAS “WOMEN’S ECONOMIC RIGHTS AS A KEY TO DEVELOPMENT” Regular meeting of the Permanent Council

February 18, 2026 At its tenth regular session, held on November 20, 1982, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (GA/OAS) resolved to declare February 18 as the “Day of the Women of the Americas” in commemoration of the anniversary of the creation of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) in 1928. The presentation of the draft Treaty on Equal Rights in 1928 marked the beginning of the CIM’s leading role in consolidating a legal framework for women’s rights in the Americas. That framework was reinforced with the adoption of the Convention on the Nationality of Women in 1933, and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Inter-American Convention on the Granting of Political Rights to Women in 1948. Later milestones such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966), the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José, 1978), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) bolstered the call of the CIM. With the adoption of the Protocol of San Salvador1 in 1988 and of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará) in 1994, the region placed itself at the global forefront in the conceptualization of human rights, assigning the CIM a leadership role in the promotion, protection, and defense of all rights for women, adolescents, and girls in the Americas, in accordance with the principles of indivisibility, universality, and progressiveness. Based on this broad legal framework, which recognizes women as subjects of human rights and active agents of democracy, the CIM has supported member states in formulating and implementing public policies, and it continues to identify opportunities for closing gaps in international law in order to respond with increasing specificity to the inequalities that still afflict the region’s women. In recent years, and especially in the current global economic context, the OAS member states have identified women’s economic rights as a priority: not only to ensure the full enjoyment and

law in order to respond with increasing specificity to the inequalities that still afflict the region’s women. In recent years, and especially in the current global economic context, the OAS member states have identified women’s economic rights as a priority: not only to ensure the full enjoyment and exercise of their rights, but also as a cornerstone of the region’s development and economic resilience. Within that framework, a hemispheric agenda has been promoted to address the structural challenges of inequality, including the disproportionate burden of care, thereby recognizing the impact of those challenges on women’s economic autonomy. Thus, the states have adopted important commitments such as the Declaration of Lima on Equality and Autonomy in the Exercise of Women’s Economic Rights, while the CIM has made concrete tools—such as the Inter-American Model Law on Care— available to support the implementation of those commitments.

1 . To date, the Protocol of San Salvador has been signed by 20 states and ratified by 18: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.4 In commemoration of the Day of the Women of the Americas and the 98th anniversary of the CIM, this concept note is being distributed to the member states with a view to complementing the request for an agenda item at the OAS Permanent Council’s regular meeting on February 18, 2026, with the following proposed agenda:

1. Remarks by the Executive Secretary of the CIM, Alejandra Mora Mora.

2. Margarete Coelho, National Coordinator of the Brazilian Support Service for

Microenterprises and Small Businesses (SEBRAE).

3. Address by Daria Balatsky, joint founder of Alga Biosciences, included on the Forbes “30 under 30” list.

4. Remarks by member states (on progress with women’s economic rights).