Recommendations on infrastructure and provision of public services 5/5

Recommendations on infrastructure and provision of public services

• Infrastructure development should be based on principles of respect and the promotion of human rights, guaranteeing the right of women and girls to the city, housing, water, mobility, technology information and communication.
• The selection and prioritization of infrastructure projects should be guided by the needs of people and avoid generating processes of population displacement and dispossession of the territories, whose impacts are mostly felt by women, especially by rural, indigenous and Afro-descendant women. Therefore, it is essential to generate effective participation mechanisms, binding consultation and free prior informed consent according to ILO Convention 169, that ensure that women’s voices are heard and taken into account during the entire process, starting before the design of the projects. Woman who are a part of such organization should have timely access to relevant information about the projects. Governments must guarantee the necessary financing for the proper functioning of these mechanisms.
• Likewise, the safety of human rights defenders must be guaranteed in their defense of the territory and natural resources, respecting the intercultural nature of each area.
• Infrastructure projects must be guided by the principle of universal accessibility, which implies that the gender perspective (contemplating diversities and intersectionalities) is considered at all stages, from the design and implementation to the monitoring of their functioning.
• In order to guarantee the effective consideration of the gender perspective, it is essential to produce information that allows the ex-ante and ex-post evaluation about gender dimensions of infrastructure projects and the provision of public services. Likewise, it is necessary that professionals in charge of development of infrastructure projects and provision of public services be trained with respect to this perspective.
• Effective transparency mechanisms must be managed in all infrastructure and provision of services projects, avoiding the promotion of financing mechanisms that operate outside existing standards (as is the case of many public-private partnerships in our region).
• Corruption in the development of infrastructure deepens inequality and affects the women and girl’s quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen anti-corruption mechanisms that affect public work of sustainable infrastructure, by means of access to public information and binding mechanisms (for example, public hearings) that ensure the informed participation of women’s organizations and girls.
• Infrastructure development and provision of public services projects must consider territorial differences and consider the diverse needs of women and girls, including the particularities of urban and rural spaces.
• Regarding transport issues, priority must be given to quality public transport, developing accessible and affordable systems that take into account the diverse needs of all people and those specific to women and girls (extended hours, appropriate frequencies, reserved seats, protection against harassment, access for women with reduced mobility, etc.).
• Adequate balances must be achieved between the development of transport infrastructure in central, peripheral and local areas, as well as in rural areas, with appropriate fare systems that consider inequalities, and, in all cases, focused on improving living conditions.
• Water is a public good and its access must be guaranteed as a right. The State is responsible for ensuring safety and cleanliness of water sources, as well as their accessibility for women.
• Implement effective mechanisms to manage the safety of women and girls in the use of public sanitation facilities and eliminate open defecation. Health services, as well as the rest of public services, must integrate management and information regarding menstrual hygiene.
• Generate a fiscal base for investments in sustainable health systems that take into account the needs of women.
• Ensure that the location of water sources is determined in consultation with the target users.
• Create infrastructure to guarantee the access of women and girls from rural and urban areas to information and communication technologies.

We reiterate that, in relation to economic, social and cultural rights, there is a principle of progressivity that has as its reverse the obligation not to back down. This principle means that there are not to be effects on the thresholds and standards of social protection already acquired, not repealing or modifying current regulations to the extent that this entails reducing, impairing or in any way adversely affecting the current level of protection. In order to fulfill this task, it is necessary to improve social protection, its maintenance, and, most importantly, avoid retrogression.

PICTURE OF    María Jesús Hernánadez Sánchez
https://www.instagram.com/mjhdezs?r=nametag

https://world-psi.org/uncsw/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Declaraci%C3%B3n-de-la-Sociedad-Civil-Consulta-Preparatoria-CSW63-Versi%C3%B3n-en-espa%C3%B1ol.pdf