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Feminist foreign policy will be a pillar for Mexico: Martha Delgado

The deputy of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights sets the gender perspective agenda to eradicate violence and discrimination

Créditos: Especial
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Feminist foreign policy will become one of the fundamental pillars of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Martha Delgado, deputy of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of that agency. The title of this project, already announced by Foreign Minister Ebrard at the 74th UN General Assembly, is to guide foreign policy under a feminist vision to eradicate all forms of violence and discrimination against women. This includes that one of the goals is to increase the number of women in the foreign service, which is mostly dominated by men. This was explained in an interview with La Silla Rota.

- Sub secretary, what will this work consist of?  How will it be done?

- Mexico has challenges in this agenda in no way do we think that Mexico has substantial equality, nor completely solved the problem of violence against women. Therefore, we need to have a foreign policy because it is in the scope of multilateral agreements where many of the rights we have or not have, women's issues are settled, are analyzed.

And on the other hand, these commitments are also landing in the country. We, as SRE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Ebrard wants to have here an institutional development that has a gender perspective and that includes the entire equality and non-discrimination agenda and all promotion policies that we, internally, like any public administration institution should.

- For example, what kind of cases happen abroad?

- It is a fact that the Mexican population abroad and also in foreign service, due to their condition of being outside the country are more likely to engage in acts that are left impune. There are many cases of nationals in other countries that feel they can be exempted to engage in violent acts against a woman abroad because many women don't have family there, a close circle of friends, contacts or even a job.

We have cases of harassment or sexual harassment in embassies, for example. We are also concerned with this matter and we have to develop criteria, sanctions, and protocols and study these cases. That is why one of the most urgent internal issues for us, which we are already developing, is a manual of foreign policy principles where the Foreign Ministry adheres to the HeforShe program and is a set of certifications abroad regarding labor equality and nondiscrimination.

- How will this new policy be reflected in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

- We need a joint SRE in the management positions and all the organizations that we have as an agency, we aspire to be equal and free of violence and is where this approach not only applies internally but also abroad for the staff we have in consulates and embassies.

We need our consulates to be sensitive and serve the population of Mexican women abroad. Of course that a feminist foreign policy goes through the attention of our representatives overseas, who have consideration and gender perspective.

We will also develop boundaries and safe violence-free trails near the agency. He said that soon there will be a secure telephone line for foreign service personnel where they can request advice, file a complaint or report an emergency against them. And we are also working with several senators to reform the Foreign Service Law to generate conditions of equity.

- Is Mexico in the vanguard of this issue?

In the world, foreign policy with a gender vision has been developed by four countries: Canada, Norway, Sweden, and France. In Latin America, Mexico takes the lead