What is MESECVI?

The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women was adopted in Belém do Pará, Brazil, in 1994. It proclaims that violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Belém do Pará Convention established for the first time the development of mechanisms for the protection and defense of women's rights in the struggle to eliminate violence against their physical, sexual and psychological integrity, in both the public and private spheres.

The effective implementation of the Convention requires a continuous and independent evaluation process, which in 2004 led to the creation of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI).

MESECVI is a systematic and permanent multilateral evaluation methodology that is based on exchange and technical cooperation between the States Party to the Convention and a Committee of Experts.

MESECVI analyzes progress in the implementation of the Convention by the States Party, as well as persistent challenges to an effective State response to violence against women.