On October 23rd, Botswana became the latest WTO Member to endorse the Buenos Aires Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment, an effort of the International Gender Champions’ Trade Impact Group. Her Excellency Ms. Bogolo Kenewendo, Minister of Trade of Botswana signed the Declaration at the Mission of Botswana in Geneva in the presence of His Excellency, President Masisi of Botswana and Ms. Arancha González, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre.
Adopted at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017, the Buenos Aires Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment provides a framework and platform for members to foster a more inclusive trade agenda as they seek to ensure that trade benefits all.
Botswana joins over 120 other Members that have supported the Declaration and the work of the Trade Impact Group. In Implementing the Declaration, WTO members are taking meaningful action by gathering experts and hosting a series of 6 seminars on topics including Gender Based Analysis of Trade; Public Procurement; Women in International Value Chains; Financial Inclusion; Digital Inclusion; and Women and Trade in Free Trade Agreements. Through these seminars, members share best practices, discuss methods for collecting and analysing sex-disaggregated data, and work together to remove barriers for women’s economic empowerment and participation in trade. Apart from the seminars, the Trade Impact Group is compiling a database of questions and answers asked at WTO Trade Policy Reviews. Additionally, the Trade Impact Group has launched a call for best practices to compile and analyse submissions from countries, with the view of publishing a guide to Gender Responsive Trade Policy ahead of MC12.
More information:
Buenos Aires Declaration on Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment
