Belém do Pará Convention

The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, better known as the Belém do Pará Convention (or Convention of Belém do Pará), is an international human rights instrument adopted by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of the Organization of American States at a conference held in Belém do Pará, Brazil on 9 June 1994. It is the first legally binding international treaty that criminalises all forms of violence against women, especially sexual violence.

Belém do Pará Convention

Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women
Signed and ratified   Acceded   Not signed   No OAS member
Signed	9 June 1994
Location	Belém do Pará, Brazil
Effective	3 September 1981
Condition	2 ratifications
Signatories	32
Parties	32
Depositary	General Secretariat of the Organization of American States
Languages	English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Background

In the late 1980s use of rape as a tool in war by official regimes in El Salvador, Haiti, Peru, and other places across Latin America was exposed, while the traditional taboo on domestic violence was gradually eroded at the same time, forcing violence against women into the forefront of public discourse. As most military dictatorships fell across Latin America during the Third Wave of Democratisation (1978–1995), women began to pressure their civilian governments to address the systemic violence against women from Brazil to Chile to Mexico.

In 1988, CIM strategy followed its model of creating international norms to press for national governmental change. To that end, the women determined to draft an Inter-American Convention focusing on violence against women and scheduled a special consultative meeting in 1990. The 1990 Inter-American Consultation on Women and Violence was the first diplomatic meeting of its kind. At the convention, the women thoroughly evaluated the issue of gender-based violence and then organised two inter-governmental meetings of experts to assist with clarification of issues to draft a proposal. The final instrument, which would become known as the 1994 Belém do Pará Convention, was the first treaty to ever address violence against women. It was presented at a Special Special Assembly of CIM delegates in April 1994, who approved it and endorsed its submission to the General Assembly of the OAS. It was adopted at Belém do Pará, Brazil, on 9 June 1994, and has been endorsed by 32 of the 34 member States of the OAS.

The delegates of the CIM continued to press for international agreements throughout the Americas that effect change and protect women. In 1998, they adopted the Declaration of Santo Domingo, which recognised that women's inalienable rights exist throughout their lifetime and are an "integral, and indivisible part of universal human rights".

Contents

The treaty is written in the four official languages of the Organization of American States; 'each [language version] is equally authentic' (Article 25):

• English: Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Belém do Pará Convention)
• Spanish: Convención Interamericana para Prevenir, Sancionar y Erradicar la Violencia contra la Mujer (Convención de Belém do Pará)
• Portuguese: Convenção Interamericana para Prevenir, Punir e Erradicar a Violência contra a Mulher (Convenção de Belém do Pará)
• French: Convention Interamericaine pour la Prevention, la Sanction et l'Elimination de la Violence contre la Femme (Convention de Belém do Pará)

The text defines what violence against women is, establishes that women have the right to live a life free of violence, and that violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It calls for the first time for the establishment of binding mechanisms for protecting and defending women's rights as essential to combating the phenomenon of violence against women's physical, sexual, and psychological integrity, whether in the public or the private sphere, and for asserting those rights within society.

State parties

As of March 2020, 32 of the 35 member states of the Organization of American States have either signed and ratified or acceded to the Belém do Pará Convention; only Canada, Cuba and the United States have not.

Impact

The Belém do Pará Convention was used alongside the American Convention on Human Rights when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights intervened in the Cotton Field femicide case, on requests from victims' relatives, who filed a complain against the Mexican State, motivated by the latter's lack of response. In its 2009 judgement, the Court found Mexico to be responsible for multiple rights violations, including the State obligations under the Belém do Pará Convention 'to use due diligence to respond to violence against women' according to Article 7, paragraphs b and c. However, the case revealed that the justiciability of the Convention was mostly limited to Article 7, which stipulates the immediate obligations of state parties; Article 8 and 9 are mostly useful for interpreting these obligations, and the obligations of state parties to other conventions such as the American Convention on Human Rights.

See also

• International framework of sexual violence
• Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (DEDAW) – United Nations (1967)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – United Nations (1979)
• Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA) – United Nations (June 1993)
• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW) – United Nations (December 1993)
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) – African Union (2003)
• Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) – Council of Europe (2011)

External links

• Official website
• English text
• Status of signatures and ratifications