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.[1]
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.[2] As most military dictatorships fell across Latin America during the Third Wave of Democratization (1978–1995), women began to pressure their civilian governments to address the systemic violence against women from Brazil to Chile to Mexico.[2]
In 1988, CIM strategy followed its model of creating international norms to press for national governmental change.[2] 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.[2] At the convention, the women thoroughly evaluated the issue of gender based violence[1] and then organized two inter-governmental meetings of experts to assist with clarification of issues to draft a proposal. The final instrument,[3] which would become known as the 1994 Belém do Pará Convention, was the first treaty to ever address violence against women.[1] 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.[3]
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 recognized that women's inalienable rights exist throughout their lifetime and are an "integral, and indivisible part of universal human rights".[4]
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.[5]
See also
- Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women – 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 – 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
References
- ^ a b c Persadie, Natalie (2012). A critical analysis of the efficacy of law as a tool to achieve gender equality. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-761-85809-6. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d Meyer, Mary K. (editor); Prügl, Elisabeth (editor) (1999). Gender politics in global governance. Lanham [u.a.]: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-0-847-69161-6. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
{{cite book}}:|first1=has generic name (help) - ^ a b "Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women - 1994". Organization of American States. Inter-American Commission of Women. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women's Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality" (PDF). Organization of American States. Inter-American Program on Women. pp. 1–7. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ^ "About the Belém do Pará Convention". CIM website. Organization of American States. Retrieved 12 March 2020.