AG/RES. 1626 (XXIX-O/99)

FIRST BIENNIAL REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH RESOLUTION AG/RES. 1456 (XXVII-O/97), "PROMOTION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION, PUNISHMENT, AND ERADICATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ‘CONVENTION OF BELÉM DO PARÁ’"

(Resolution adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 7, 1999)  

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RECALLING resolution AG/RES. 1456 (XXVII-O/97), "Promotion of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women ‘Convention of Belém do Pará,’" which, to ensure follow-up of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, instructed the Permanent Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) to present biennial reports to the General Assembly on progress made in the Convention’s application and on experiences and results achieved through the initiatives and programs pursued in the member states to combat violence against women;

BEARING IN MIND that, in operative paragraph 8 of resolution AG/RES. 1606 (XXVIII-O/98), "Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights," the General Assembly expresses appreciation for and takes note of the Report of the Special Rapporteur on Women’s Rights and encourages the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to continue its consideration of the matter; and

CONSIDERING that, to date, 29 countries have ratified the Convention of Belém do Pará, thus demonstrating their support for and interest in the subject of violence against women;

RECOGNIZING that although the CIM report shows that efforts are being made throughout the Hemisphere to attain the objectives of the Convention of Belém do Pará, violence persists and is of such a magnitude that strategies must continue to be implemented to free women from that scourge;

AWARE that the report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the Status of Women in the Americas, submitted to the General Assembly for consideration at its twenty-eighth regular session, also concludes that "the situations such as those described in which women who are victims of violence are left unprotected still exist because of a lack of adequate legislation or because the legislation in force is not observed"; and that the report, in its recommendations to the OAS member states, urges those that have not yet done so to ratify the Convention of Belém do Pará, to demonstrate their commitment to the subject; and

RECALLING that, in the plans of action adopted at the First and the Second Summit of the Americas, a commitment was made, regarding the subject of women, to take steps to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women, as was done in the CIM Strategic Plan of Action, which assigned priority to this topic,

RESOLVES:

1. To note with satisfaction the First Biennial Report to the General Assembly on compliance with resolution AG/RES. 1456 (XXVII-O/97), "Promotion of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, ‘Convention of Belém do Pará.’"

2. To express its satisfaction with the progress made by the CIM and the member states in promoting the Convention and attaining its objectives, in accordance with the priorities established in the plans of action of the Summits of the Americas, the CIM Strategic Plan of Action, and the report of the IACHR on the subject.

3. To encourage governments that have not yet done so to ratify the Convention of Belém do Pará, urging all member states to continue to promote measures to prevent, punish, and eradicate violence against women in the Hemisphere, especially by adapting their legislations in pursuance of this objective.

4. To urge the CIM and the member states to continue to develop strategies for attaining the objectives of this Convention, and to publish the results in the next CIM follow-up report.