CP/RES. 937 (1651/08)

CONVOCATION OF THE SECOND CONFERENCE OF STATES PARTIES
OF THE MECHANISM TO FOLLOW UP ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION, PUNISHMENT, AND ERADICATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, “CONVENTION OF BELÉM DO PARÁ” (MESECVI)

(Approved by the Permanent Council at its meeting of May 16, 2008)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

RECALLING:

That the Convention of Belém do Pará, adopted in 1994, is the only binding international legal instrument on gender-based violence and has become an important framework in which the States Parties thereto undertake to implement policies and specific measures, including laws and national and regional action programs, to eradicate violence against women;

That, in 2004, the Conference of States Parties adopted the Statute of the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará” (MESECVI) as a means of following up on commitments undertaken; promoting the implementation of the Convention and contributing to the fulfillment of its objectives; and establishing a system for cooperation among States Parties and with all member states of the Organization of American States (OAS);

CONSIDERING that the Statute of the MESECVI establishes that said mechanism to follow up will consist of a technical body, the Committee of Experts; and a political body, the Conference of States Parties, which will hold a regular meeting every two years, and a special meeting as many times as deemed necessary;

BEARING IN MIND that the Committee of Experts (CEVI) has completed part of the first multilateral evaluation round process by approving the evaluation report on and recommendations to each country, as well as the Hemispheric Report for presentation to the Conference of States Parties;

BEARING IN MIND ALSO that the First Conference of States Parties was convened by the OAS Secretary General on October 26, 2004, and that, at this Second Conference of States Parties, rules of procedure will be adopted to govern henceforth its organization and operation;

HAVING SEEN resolution AG/RES. 2330 (XXXVII-O/07), “Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, ‘Convention of Belém do Pará,’” in which note is taken of the offer by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to host the Second Conference of States Parties to the “Convention of Belém do Pará”; and

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the host country has scheduled the Second Conference of States Parties to the “Convention of Belém do Pará,” to be held on July 9 and 10, 2008, in Caracas, Venezuela,

RESOLVES:

1. To request the Secretary General to convene the Second Conference of States Parties to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará,” to be held on July 9 and 10, 2008, in Caracas, Venezuela.

2. To request the Secretary General to forward the convocation to this meeting to the States Parties to the Convention and to those states not party, and that the latter consider the possibility of expressing their intent to participate therein in their capacities as observers.

3. To express appreciation to the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for hosting the Second Conference of States Parties to the “Convention of Belém do Pará.”