Belize Feminists to Host CAFRA

An important agenda item will be a review of progress made on implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, in preparation for the Beijing+5 Special Session of the United Nations, June 2000. The meetings will be preceded by a one-day field trip-Workshop on Teenage Pregnancy, in the rural Garifuna village of Hopkins.

The meetings are being hosted by the Belize Organization for Women and Development (BOWAND), the national representative for CAFRA in Belize.

CAFRA’s 23-member Regional Committee is responsible for policy formulation and programme direction for the network of 341 feminist researchers and activists and 31 women’s organisations. Currently, CAFRA is served by national representatives in 14 countries of the Dutch, English and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

This is CAFRA’s first regional meeting in Belize. Previously, Regional Committee meetings have been held in Puerto Rico, Suriname, Cuba, Curaçao, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Over the years, CAFRA has provided technical and financial assistance for the activities of women activists and women’s organisations in Belize. Last year, the Association provided partial financial support for a study of domestic violence conducted by BOWAND, through the UN Inter-Agency Campaign on Women’s Human Rights.