National Women's Council - Argentina

Consejo Nacional de la Mujer

This is the main responsible agency for monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination against Women and for the formulation and co-ordination of public policies on the subject. Its main objective is to promote equitable participation of women and men in social, political, economic and cultural life.

The Council was set up in 1992 within the framework of the Executive Power by Decree 1426/92 later modified to some extent by decree 291/95, that changed the organisational structure of the Council establishing two constitutive bodies: the Board of Directors, made up of representatives from the various ministries and other federal government agencies, and the Federal Women's Council, including the Boards of Directors members and provinces representatives.

This agency gained constitutional status with the 1994 Reform (article 75 of the Constitution). Its staff is divided into a Council Chairmanship Unit, three National Head Offices and an Administrative Coordination Department. It has its own budget and its Chairperson has ministerial rank and reports directly to the President of the Nation.

Among its main activities the Council has:

• signed different framework agreements for inter-agency co-operation with different government agencies and international organisations;

• drafted legislative acts for the promotion of equality of women before the law;

• developed a system of documentation and information; and,

• contributed to institutional strengthening via the setting up of provincial and municipal women's bodies.

The Council promotes sectoral strategies in the following areas:

• Health

• Education

• Justice

• Legislation

Within the Council, the Federal Women's Council has the responsibility of drafting the yearly general policy of the Agency, of approving the half yearly report to be submitted to the President of the Nation, to foster the setting up of services for women, especially for those sectors of the society that are particularly in need, and to create internal regulations.

The Council is also responsible of providing technical advice and co-ordinating the actions of different ministries for the implementation of the Plan on Equal Opportunities for Women in their respective areas of competence.

The Documentation centre of the Council contains different types of documentation among including electronic databases on women-related subjects.

The National Women's council receives support and co-operates with the following international organisations and foreign Governments:

• World Bank (Family Strengthening and Social Capital promotion Project, PROFAM).

• Government of Japan (Technical Co-operation for Capacity Building Project on Evaluation of Gender Approach in Public Policies, PROGEN)

• ECLAC (Institutionalizing Gender Approach within ECLAC and the sectorial Ministries)

• UNIFEM (project for a communication strategy strengthening).

• UNICEF (Inter-sectorial Working Group on child prostitution and other issues)

The Council is also promoting a Civil Society Forum, to create a space for debate, exchanging ideas and proposals on design and monitoring of public policies and programmes.