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Second Hemispheric Report on the Implementation of the Belém do Pará Convention Launched at the OAS

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today presided over the launch of the Second Hemispheric Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, also known as the Belém do Pará Convention, during a Policy Round Table on “Priorities for action in combating violence against women” at the headquarters of the organization in Washington, DC.

In his opening address, Secretary General Insulza emphasized that violence against women “is an assault on the validity of human rights, peace and democratic governability in the region.” He also pointed out that States Party to the Convention “do not only condemn violence against women, they are committed to adopt policies designed to prevent, punish and eradicate such violence.” To move forward in the implementation of the Convention, the Secretary General highlighted the importance of constant evaluation, embodied by the Second Hemispheric Report on the Implementation of the Belém do Pará Convention.

Among the report’s recommendations, Secretary General Insulza emphasized the need to improve and expand the gathering of data and the use of indicators. “For all of us the difficulty of dealing with a problem whose real extent and complexity we don’t understand is obvious,” he said.

The Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI), the body charged with supporting the execution of the Convention in signatory countries, is one of the “most significant” parts of the efforts to promote the implementation of the Convention, said the Secretary. “MESECVI analyzes what has been the impact of the Convention in the region, the achievements of the States Party to the Convention in terms of prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women, and the challenges that exist in the implementation of public policies in this area,” explained Insulza, upon opening the Round Table, which was moderated by the OAS Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), Carmen Moreno.

Elizabeth Quiroa, President of the Conference of States Party to the Belém do Pará Convention, stressed the importance of prevention in national policies to combat domestic violence. “We believe that prevention is a key strategy in eliminating violence against women, and that efforts aimed at prevention should complement efforts to deliver services to victims,” she said.

For her part, Patricia Olamendi, Coordinator of the MESECVI Committee of Experts, recognized the progress made in the region in the area, but also highlighted the “enormous resistance” to many of the needed legislative changes, above all in the treatment of crimes committed by family members or within the home. She also called for the gathering of better and more uniform data on this kind of violence by the countries of the region, which would improve efforts to understand and combat the problem.

Maryvonne Lyazid, Assistant Ombudsperson of France and Vice President of the Department for the Fight against Discrimination and the Promotion of Equality, pointed out that the problem of violence against women is a worldwide problem, equally worrying in Europe as in Latin America. She explained the functions of the ombudsperson in the French system and in Europe in general, where they combat not only the problem of violence against women, but various types of discrimination.

Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, the OAS Acting Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, said the Convention of Belém do Pará marked a “before-after” point, because “it is the element that has made it possible to incorporate the perspective of gender in international law more generally in our system.”

Maria Leticia Guelfi, of UN Women, explained the three pillars of the “Unite to End Violence against Women” Campaign, launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon: “End impunity,” with emphasis on access to justice for women; “not one more,” focused on the prevention of violence against women; and “it’s everyone’s responsibility,” an effort to raise consciousness in all sectors of society on the issue.

Alfonso Quiñonez, the OAS Secretary for External Relations, thanked the panelists for their presentations “not only because of the importance of this issue, but also because of the urgent need to keep working” toward greater achievements. Secretary Quiñonez acknowledged that there has been progress, but added that “we should not feel satisfied,” and highlighted the importance of the three areas in which the OAS will remain focused: expanding consciousness of the problem, the strengthening of institutions to “achieve access to justice,” and the promotion of “effective public policies.”

Before the Round Table, the Secretary General received the panelists in his office, where they discussed ways to make progress in combating violence against women, the relationship of the issue with the wider problem of citizen insecurity in many countries of the region, the important need for the countries of the region to fulfill their obligations under the Convention, and the need for more uniform and complete data on this scourge.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The video of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-249/12