Hemispheric Forum Women’s Leadership for a Citizens’ Democracy

Hemispheric Forum: Women’s Leadership for a Citizens’ Democracy April 4-6, 2011 Washington, D.C Biographies of the Panelists Elizabeth Abi-Mershed Assistant Executive Secretary Inter-American Commission on Human Rights As Assistant Executive Secretary of the IACHR, Dr Abi-Mershed examines and handles cases before the Commission, writes reports, and participates in the litigation of cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights She also supports the work of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women A specialist in women’s rights, she teaches at the Washington College of Law at American University Since 1992, Dr Abi-Mershed has been a principal specialist in human rights at the OAS IACHR She is a graduate of the Washington College of Law and Georgetown University and has published several articles on the human rights of women Kenny D Anthony Former Prime Minister and opposition leader, Saint Lucia Kenny Anthony is an attorney specializing in constitutional law A graduate in government and history, he has worked in the educational, academic, and political arenas Before assuming the leadership of his country, Dr Anthony worked at the Ministry of Education and Culture, including as Minister of Education; at the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus); at the Secretariat and Office of the General Counsel of CARICOM; and as leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party He served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 1997 to 2006 and is the present opposition leader Dr Anthony has published numerous articles on law in the Caribbean Line Barreiro Expert at the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Line Barreiro is coordinator of the CEDAW indicators development group for Paraguay and the National Coordinator for Disability Rights (CONAPRODIS) She has been a professor of masters’ studies on gender at the University Studies Center of San Simón University in Cochabamba (Bolivia), the University of Costa Rica, San Andrés University in La Paz (Bolivia), the Complutense Institute of International Studies in Madrid (Spain), and the Central American University in Managua (Nicaragua) She also served as coordinator, representing the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR), of the initiative to ratify the CEDAW Optional Protocol in Central America Cynthia Barrow-Giles Lecturer in Political Sciences, University of the West Indies Cynthia Barrow-Giles sits on the Saint Lucia Constitutional Reform Commission and the international advisory board of the journal Round Table Political scientist and lecturer in her field at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Ms Barrow-Giles has served as assistant rector of the Faculty of Social Sciences at UWI and Director of the Department of Government, Sociology, and Social Work She is widely published on various topics, including Caribbean politics and women’s participation in Caribbean political life She served as a member of the expert team of the Office of the Commonwealth in monitoring the Sri Lanka elections of 2008-2009 and has participated in numerous OAS electoral observer missions in the Caribbean Gillian M S Bristol Ambassador to the US and Permanent Representative of Grenada to the Organization of American States In May 2009, Gillian Bristol was appointed by the Government of Grenada as its Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, as well as its Permanent Representative to the OAS In August 2010, Ms Bristol was also accredited as Grenada’s non–resident Ambassador to Mexico Previously, Ms Bristol held a number of positions within the General Secretariat of the OAS, including Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary General, Committee Secretary responsible for hemispheric security-related matters, and specialized programmatic work with the Inter– American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) Ms Bristol is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, with degrees in languages and law Fernando Carrillo Flores Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank in Brazil Fernando Carrillo Flores earned his master’s degree in law and public finance at Harvard University He won the First National Law and Economics Competition in 1988 and has worked in those two fields throughout his public, professional, and academic career After being among the leaders of the student movement for the “seventh ballot” that gave rise to the 1991 Colombian Constitution; a presidential adviser; a member of the Constituent Assembly; and Minister of Justice, he returned to Harvard University to pursue a doctorate in political economics and government In 1994, he joined the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, where he has led efforts to place democracy and political and judicial reform on the Latin American economic development agenda Sheila Copps Former Deputy Prime Minister, Canada A journalist by profession, Shelia Copps was first elected to the Canadian Parliament in 1984 She has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (19931997), and, on different occasions, Minister of Environment, Communications, Multiculturalism and Citizenship, Sports, and Canadian Heritage Throughout her career, Ms Copps has been a defender of women’s rights She is on the advisory board of Equal Voice, a Canadian NGO that fights for women’s political citizenship Since concluding her political career, Ms Copps has been a columnist for a variety of Canadian periodicals and host of a radio program María del Rocío García Gaytán President of the CIM, 2011-2012 President of the National Women’s Institute, Mexico Rocío García Gaytán was appointed President of the National Women’s Institute (Inwomen) of Mexico in February 2007 In her career, she has served as delegate of the State of Jalisco to Congress, where she promoted the formation of the Committee on Equity and Gender and legislation against gender-based violence Beginning in 2002, she headed the Jalisco Women’s Institute, where she implemented the “women’s line” and the on-site assistance program to guide and advise women on matters such as violence in the family, education, health, and labor She was a federal delegate to the 57th Legislature of the Mexican Congress, where she served as Secretary of the Committee on Equity and Gender and member of the Committee on Population, Borders, and Migration Narda Solanda Goyes Quelal Specialist, Ágora Democrática/IDEA International Juris Doctor, with a degree in Public and Social Sciences from the Central University of Ecuador, Solanda Goyes has worked for over 13 years in the legislative process, policy monitoring, the institutionalization of human rights in the electoral arena and the justice sector, and the generation of public policy fostering equality between men and women She has served as adviser to the National Congress of the Republic and adviser to the 2008 Constituent Assembly of Ecuador She presently works at Ágora Democrática (IDEA - NIMD) and at the Ecuadorean office of IDEA International, where she promotes multiparty dialogue among political party leaders and the Parliamentary Group for Women’s Rights in Ecuador Pablo Gutiérrez Director, Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation, OAS Secretariat for Political Affairs Pablo Gutiérrez is Director of the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation of the OAS Previously, Mr Gutiérrez served as Chief of Cabinet of the General Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of Chile during the administration of Ricardo Lagos Escobar From October 2003 to May 2006, he was Chief of Cabinet of the Office of the Vice President and Ministry of the Interior In 1996, he was elected president of the Student Federation of the Central University for a one-year term and served as spokesperson for the Confederation of University Students of Chile Attorney by profession, Mr Gutiérrez studied security and national defense at the National Academy of Strategic Studies of Chile He is a candidate for a master’s degree in constitutional law at the Catholic University of Chile Begoña Lasagabaster Political Advisor, Leadership and Political Participation Section UN Women Since 2008, Begoña Lasagabaster has worked as a specialist and advisor on women’s leadership and political participation at the United Nations, first with UNIFEM and currently with UN Women Prior to that she served as Representative for Guipúzcoa en the Congress of Deputies of Spain, where she held the position of spokesperson for the Commissions of the Interior, Justice, External Affairs, Constitutional Affairs, Budgets and Regulations, Public Administration, Mixed Commission (Congress-Senate) for the European Union, and Development Cooperation and Aid A lawyer by training, Ms Lasagabaster specialized in community law, civil law and private international law as a graduate of the University of Salamanca and the College of Europe Sara Lovera López Comunicaciones, Educación y Desarrollo para la Igualdad Schooled in journalism, social work, adult education, State theory and agricultural Communications, Sara Lovera López has worked for more than 40 years in print, electronic and virtual media in order to bring attention to the human rights of women Ms Lovera has founded several networks of journalists with a gender perspective (national, Latin American, Caribbean and international), as well as feminist news agencies, including SEMlac, Cimacnoticias (Mexico), La Independiente (Catalonia) and Amecopress (Madrid) She is currently affiliated with Comunicación, Educación y Desarrollo para la Igualdad (CEDI) and has published extensively on the issue of women and journalism Otilia Lux de Cot Delegate, Congress of Guatemala Otilia Lux de Cotí is one of the delegates to the Congress of Guatemala with the most experience in gender issues Activist and promoter of the law against femicide and other forms of violence against women, she is a Mayan woman who has twice served as vice president of the Women’s Commission She has been a member of the Commission for the Historical Investigation of Human Rights Violations and Acts of Violence in Guatemala and has participated in the Executive Council of the Political Association of Mayan Women (MOJOJ), the Forum for Social Equality, and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Rose Mary Madden Arias Special Program on the Human Rights of Women Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR) Since 2010, Ms Madden has been in charge of the Program on the Human Rights of Women at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, where she has placed special emphasis on educating women about human rights Until May 2010, she was a member of the team against sexual harassment at the Women’s Studies Center (CIEM) at the University of Costa Rica She has participated in drafting a number of laws, such as the law on domestic violence, the law on responsible fatherhood, and the criminal law on violence against women, among others She was an official delegate of the Government of Costa Rica to the expanded leadership of ECLAC in Santiago, Chile, and at the third preparatory meeting for the Fourth World Conference on Women Luz Patricia Mejia Commission member, Rapporteur on the Rights Women Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Luz Patricia Mejía is the current Rapporteur on the Rights of Women and a member of the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, a post she assumed on March 4, 2008 Previously she served as First Vice President of the IACHR in 2008 and President in 2009, and as Director of Legal Advisory Services for the Public Prosecutor of Venezuela She has also worked in the Office of Defenders of the People in that country, serving as Director of Judicial Resources and later as Director General of Legal Services She was a cowriter of the Law to Protect Victims, Witnesses, and Other Parties to Legal Proceedings, of the Organic Law on the Office of Defenders of the People, and of the Organic Law on the Citizens’ Branch of Government She has published research and specialized articles on various topics Mia A Mottley Former Deputy Prime Minister, Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, an attorney by profession, was recognized by Essence magazine as one of 100 emerging leaders of the 21st century Ms Mottley served as senator for the opposition in the upper house in Barbados and later as Minister of Education, Youth, and Culture after her election to Parliament in Barbados She also chaired the Committee of Ministers of Education of CARICOM and was the first female Attorney General of Barbados She has also served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Development responsible for international trade and as Governor of the Caribbean Development Bank, of the Inter-American Development Bank, and of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development From 2008 to 2010, Ms Mottley served as the first woman to lead the opposition in Barbados José Antonio Ocampo School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University José Antonio Ocampo is an instructor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Until mid-2007, he was Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Economic and Social Affairs In that position, he led the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and chaired the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs Previously, he served as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and in various positions in the government of his country, Colombia, including in the Ministries of the Treasury, Public Credit, and Agriculture Mr Ocampo is the author of numerous books and articles on macroeconomic theory and policy, economic development, international trade, and economic history Daniela Payssé Delegate to the Parliament of Uruguay and President of the Special Committee on Gender and Equity President of the Special Committee on Gender and Equity, member of the Human Rights Committee, member of the Women’s Bicameral Caucus, member of the Committee on the Status of Women of the Uruguay Assembly, member of the Parliamentary Group for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, member of the MERCOSUR Parliament, member of the Citizenship and Human Rights Committee, and member of the Network of Women Politicians of Uruguay, Ms Payssé has represented the Uruguayan Parliament at countless seminars and conferences on domestic violence, equal opportunity, and women’s political participation Silvia Pimentel President of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Silvia Pimentel is President of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) She is one of the founders, and a member, of the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM) She was also one of the founders of International Women´s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW), the first international NGO to perform the political task of monitoring the operations of the CEDAW Committee from the perspective of the civil society women’s movement As a member of CLADEM, she writes reports and has prepared a manual to promote monitoring not only of the CEDAW but also of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Marcela Ríos Researcher on electoral systems and women, Chile Marcela Ríos is in charge of governance issues and is principal specialist on gender at the United Nations Development Programme in Chile, where she manages various projects designed to strengthen democracy and its institutions Before assuming those functions, she served as coordinator of the Governance Program at the Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Chile, and, from 1994 to 2001, as researcher on citizenship and public policy at the Women’s Studies Center of Chile A specialist in comparative Latin American politics and in gender studies, she has written articles for books and journals on democracy in Latin America, electoral systems and policy, and gender equality Vivian Roza Coordinator of the Program for the Support of Women’s Leadership and Representation (PROLEAD) of the Inter-American Development Bank Since 1997, Vivian Roza has worked at the Inter-American Development Bank as coordinator of PROLEAD, focusing on women’s political participation, gender equality, and democratic governance She has served as an international electoral observer and coordinator of working groups on gender in development She is the author of various publications on women and political participation, most recently of Political Parties and Parity: The Pending Equation (IDB and IDEA International) Ms Roza has a Ph.D in Political Science from Georgetown University and a master’s degree from New York University in Latin American and Caribbean studies Xanthis Suarez Diputada Presidenta de la Comisión de Salud, Seguridad Social, Población y Asuntos Laborales y Gremiales del Parlamento Centroamericano (PARLACEN) As a Deputy for the State of Nicaragua in the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), Xanthis Suarez has occupied various posts, including Secretary and Vice-president of the Commission on Women, Childhood, Youth and Family, as well as President of the Commission on Tourism Previously, she fulfilled several roles with the Nicaraguan Association of Social Workers Ms Suarez is the co-founder of the European-Latin American Women’s Forum, founder and director of the publication and television program Bolsa de Mujeres and columnist for the publication Bolsa de Noticias A graduate in social work from the Central American University, Ms Suarez has completed post-graduate studies in social sciences, gender and development and journalism Minou Tavares Mirabal Delegate and Vice President of the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas, Dominican Republic Vice President of the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas (COPA) and member of the Executive Committee of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Ms Tavares is also a member of the Central Committee of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and has served two terms as delegate for Precinct No of the National District During the first PLD administration, from 1996 to 2000, she served as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of Foreign Policy She was also Assistant Secretary of State of Foreign Relations for Consular Affairs Since August 2006, she has chaired the Foreign Relations and International Cooperation Committee of the Chamber of Deputies She is a member of the Equity and Gender Committees and of the Special Committee Ada Rosa del Valle Iturrez De Cappellini National Senator representing the Province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina Ada Rosa del Valle is President of the Population and Human Development Committee of the Argentine Congress and an attorney specializing in civil law and regional, social, economic, and political development In public service, she has occupied various positions: Federal Delegate for Santiago del Estero; Administrator of Villa Ojo de Agua, Santiago del Estero; Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Health in Santiago del Estero; and Council Member for Villa Ojo de Agua, Santiago del Estero In her party activities, she has served as President of the Justicialist Party Congress for Santiago del Estero and Principal Congressional Representative for the Justicialist Party of Santiago del Estero Virginia Vargas Founder of the Flora Tristán Peruvian Women‘s Center A sociologist specializing in political science and a militant feminist founder of the Flora Tristán Peruvian Women‘s Center in 1978 Coordinator of NGOs in Latin America and the Caribbean at the NGO forum connected with the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing Author of various books on gender, politics, and development Virginia Vargas has continued her active participation in the World Social Forum as a member of the International Committee of the Marcosur Feminist Articulation She continues her work at Flora Tristán in the feminist studies and polemics program and at the National University with the Democracy and Global Transformation program Susana Villarán de la Puente Mayor of Lima, Peru In January 2011, Susana Villarán took office as Mayor of Lima, Peru Vice President of the Social Force Decentralization Party and a specialist in human rights, citizen security, justice and coexistence, and social policy, Ms Villarán has served as Minister of Women in Peru’s transitional government At that Ministry, she formed the negotiation panels for the fight against poverty and the National Program against Family and Sexual Violence and promoted the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission Ms Villarán has served also as one of the seven members of the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Ana María đez Málaga Adviser on women’s political rights Manual Ramos Movement At present, and since its founding in 2000, Ana María đez has been a member of Peru’s National Council on Labor and Job Promotion She also serves on the Advisory Committee of the Constitutional Commission of the Peruvian Congress She has focused her career on three issues: the right to work, child labor, and the legal and political status of women She headed the official Commission charged with preparing the Proposed Draft Law on Working Mothers She has also served on the Advisory Council of the Ministry of Women and Social Development The Peruvian State awarded her the highest level of the Medal of Labor Pablo Zúñiga Director, Department of State Modernization and Good Governance, OAS Secretariat for Political Affairs Pablo Zúñiga is Director of the OAS Department of State Modernization and Good Governance Previously, he has worked as principal specialist in that department, where he coordinated the Section for the Development of Public Administration During his work at the OAS, Mr Zúñiga has directed programs to promote a democratic culture through formal and non-formal education and has participated in electoral observer missions and in the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices Earlier at the OAS, he coordinated the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH) and worked in the office of administration and the Department of Legal Services  ... Union, and Development Cooperation and Aid A lawyer by training, Ms Lasagabaster specialized in community law, civil law and private international law as a graduate of the University of Salamanca and... Political Advisor, Leadership and Political Participation Section UN Women Since 2008, Bego? ?a Lasagabaster has worked as a specialist and advisor on women’s leadership and political participation at... Suarez Diputada Presidenta de la Comisión de Salud, Seguridad Social, Población y Asuntos Laborales y Gremiales del Parlamento Centroamericano (PARLACEN) As a Deputy for the State of Nicaragua