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OAS Co-Organizes Forum on Prevention of Violence against Women in Pachuca, Mexico

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, will participate on Wednesday in the inauguration of the Hemispheric Forum "The Convention of Belém do Pará and the Prevention of Violence against Women: Best Practices and Proposals for the Future," which will be held in the Mexican city of Pachuca, in the State of Hidalgo.

The two-day Forum is being co-organized by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of the OAS, UN Women, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, the National Women's Institute of Mexico, the Government of the State of Hidalgo, and the Iberoamerican General Secretariat (SEGIB).

In various documents, CIM has noted that violence against women is an offense against human dignity and a violation of human rights. In this sense, the commissioners stated that the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará), adopted in 1994, established for the first time the right of women to a life free of violence in both the public and private spheres.

According to the CIM, over the past two decades, the Convention has given rise to a new generation of comprehensive laws and the formulation of public policies and national plans. However, the CIM believes that the Convention is a promise yet to be fulfilled, because violence is still a daily reality for women and girls in the Americas. In this context, the organizers of the Hemispheric Forum will seek to identify progress - lessons learned, practices and promising experiences – as well as the challenges to effective prevention of violence in the key areas of education and communication for gender equality and nonviolence.

Secretary General Insulza will participate in the inauguration together with the Governor of the State of Hidalgo, José Francisco Olvera Ruiz; the Executive Secretary SEGIB, Rebecca Grynspan; the UNICEF Representative in Mexico, Isabel Crowley; the Representative of UN Women in Mexico, Ana Guezmes; President of the National Women's Institute of Mexico and Delegate to the CIM, Lorena Cruz; the Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Ministry of the Interior of Mexico, Lia Limón; and the Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Vanessa Rubio. The event will be broadcast live on the OAS Website.

WHAT: Hemispheric Forum "The Convention of Belém do Pará and the Prevention of Violence against Women: Best Practices and Proposals for the Future"

WHEN: Wednesday, May 14, 2014, at 9:00 local time (14:00 GMT)

WHERE: Centro de Convenciones TUZOFORUM. Camino Real de la Plata Lote 15 Mza. 3, dentro del Parque David Ben Gurión, Fracc. Zona Plateada, Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo, México

Reference: AVI-081/14