Position Paper

Committee: Commission on the Status of Women

Topic: Mother’s Rights
Country: Republic of Nicaragua

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2013, Nicaragua was reported to be the
leading country in Latin America in the number of adolescent pregnancies with 28% of the girls in the country
giving birth before reaching the age of 18. These numbers are not only appalling, but show how the effects of
cultural and strict gender norms regarding sexual education can be factors in unwanted pregnancies and issues
surrounding motherhood, especially in developing nations.1 The Republic of Nicaragua strongly stands by the
idea that abortion is a criminal offense in all circumstances and mothers must carry the pregnancy to term.
Thereby, throughout the years we have worked to diminish the rates of unwanted pregnancies, and to create
favorable environments for mothers and pregnant women. For instance, in 2011 we developed the Better Work
Nicaragua (BWN) programme, which aims to become a greater voice for working women including mothers by
protecting their job quality. However, harmful stereotypes such as the one presented by the 2008
Latinobarometro survey which states that “Nicaraguans believe that women should only undertake paid work if
the income of the household is not sufficient”, still pose a threat to our nation’s development.2 Nonetheless,
powered up by initial successes, Nicaragua will continue to work to demystify and deconstruct these harmful
stereotypes to ensure that mother’s rights are preserved and well respected around the globe.

The United Nations has made significant advances towards maternal welfare, with the most notable effort
being the Convention on Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value (C100)
which seeks to establish remuneration without discrimination by sex also having a certain focus on motherhood.
Nicaragua ratified and made various attempts to implement this convention in our nation as well as with other
notable ones such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrmination against Women
(CEDAW) which deems null instruments directed to restricting women’s capacities. Regardless, despite the UN
advances, the Republic of Nicaragua strongly stands by the idea, there is still a lot to do in order to decisively
end this issue. Thus, we believe a much more detailed approach should be taken focusing on all of the issues that
encompass motherhood such as access to working benefits, protections against unfair dismissal and reproductive
health.

The Republic of Nicaragua recognizes the complexity of the matter, and thus proposes the creation of the
“NICA Organization” which will work for maternal welfare with 4 main branches. Primarily, it will work in
accord with each nation’s ministries and companies, and will carry out a “Newfound Qualitative Study”
gathering data on already existing projects regarding motherhood. The data will be analyzed to see the progress
of these initiatives as well as their feasibility and viability of implementation globally. Likewise, data concerning
issues of motherhood such as teen pregnancy rates will be collected for the development of an “International
Curricula Guidline” for sexual education, with the purpose of diminishing abortion rates worldwide by teaching
methods for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. In addition, to encourage further discussion, the
organization will host a “Convention on Maternal Welfare” annually in which advances and experiences will be
shared by volunteer mothers. At the same time, it will serve as a space where experts worldwide can examine the
data and argue new courses of action for the matter. Moreover, a recognition for a “safe corporate seal” for
companies in the public and private sector which have taken initiative for the welfare of mothers will be given at
the gathering. Lastly, in the case of companies which have failed to meet certain requirements taken into account
for the seal, working mothers will be able request “Assistance By Insurance” from pro bono programs for legal
support. It is in this way, that the Republic of Nicaragua believes that with time and the aforementioned
proposals, a safer environment can be created for mothers worldwide.

1
08/03/2018. (2018, March 08). Education for gender equality in Nicaragua. Retrieved from https://www.dianova.org/opinion/education-for-gender-equality-in-nicaragua/
2
Authors, A., Herrera, MDB Capital. (n.d.). Gender Segregation and Income Differences in Nicaragua. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13545701.2019.1567931