In an official signing ceremony held in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic has completed its formal accession to the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a global initiative centered on advancing women’s health, protecting the fundamental role of family in society, and expanding equitable opportunities for women across all sectors.
The accession agreement was signed by three key figures: Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Víctor O. Bisonó Haza, U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Leah Francis Campos, and Bethany Kozma, who serves both as Secretary of the Geneva Consensus Declaration and Director of the Office of Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Addressing attendees at the signing event, Bisonó highlighted that the Dominican Republic’s decision to join the declaration is a deliberate reaffirmation of every nation’s sovereign right to craft domestic policies aligned with its own constitutional framework, national legislation, and unique local context. He went on to underscore the Caribbean nation’s long-standing commitment to upholding equal treatment under the law and removing systemic barriers to expand economic, political and social opportunities for women across the country.
Through its formal membership, the Dominican Republic has aligned with the declaration’s core principles, which include formal recognition of the inherent human rights of women and girls, the promotion of equal access to opportunities in political, economic and public spheres, expanded access to quality health services and inclusive development, and the strengthening of health systems to serve vulnerable women and children.
A defining pillar of the declaration is its formal recognition of the family as the fundamental unit of society. It calls on member states to design public policies that uplift women, girls and family units, while upholding the principle that national governments hold the responsibility to set health policy priorities based on their own domestic needs and strategic goals.
The initiative also fosters collaborative action between member states across multilateral platforms, most notably within the United Nations system, to advance its shared principles through open dialogue and structured international cooperation.
First launched in 2020 under the first administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Geneva Consensus Declaration now unites a global coalition of countries around shared commitments to women’s health, the protection of life, and the strengthening of family institutions worldwide.