The Role of the EU in the Institutionalization of Gender Equality in Regional Organizations in Latin America.

This paper explores the process of institutionalization of norms of gender equality at the regional level in Latin America. It focuses on two particular norms; violence against women and gender mainstreaming, and four regional organizations; Mercosur, Alba, UNASUR and CELAC. The main objective of the paper is to assess the role of the European Union in this process. It therefore explores to what extent the EU has promoted norms of gender equality in these regional organizations. The EU has formal relations with Mercosur and CELAC, which are central pillars in European-Latin American interregional relations. Alba and UNASUR have not established formal relations with the EU, among others, given their critical perspective on ‘western’ and therefore EU norms and model of regional integration. A comparison of the development of gender equality norms in, on the one hand, Mercosur and CELAC, and on the other hand, Alba and Unasur, should contribute to the study of the role of the EU in institutionalization of gender equality in regional organizations in Latin America.