WASHINGTON, USA – The government of Canada today signed the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women (Belém do Pará Convention), at the Organization of American States (OAS), the most signed and ratified treaty in the inter-American system: it has 32 States Parties and, as of today, 2 signatories.
At the signing ceremony, held at the OAS headquarters in Washington, participated: OAS secretary general Luis Almagro; Canada’s Permanent Representative to the OAS, ambassador Stuart Savage; and the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), Alejandra Mora Mora.
The OAS secretary general congratulated the government of Canada for joining the Convention. “This signature demonstrates the commitment of the Government of Canada to women and the challenges they face in fully realizing their rights and reaffirms the role of multilateralism as a space for building consensus and concrete actions to ensure a life free of violence for all women,” he said.
Ambassador Savage, for his part, recalled that “this historic treaty represents a collective commitment to address, prevent, and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls throughout our hemisphere.”
“By signing this Convention, we reaffirm our determination to work with our partners in the Americas to create a safer and fairer world for all women and girls,” he assured.
With Canada’s signing, the Belém do Pará Convention, which has been in force at the hemispheric level for 30 years, is consolidated as the most signed and ratified instrument in the inter-American system. It has 32 States Parties and two signatory countries – Italy and now also Canada – reflecting the region’s commitment to the fight against violence against women.
Canada’s signing of the Belém do Pará Convention comes at a very significant time in the field of women’s rights.
Firstly, it is part of the OAS celebrations of International Women’s Day; secondly, it takes place within the framework of the 30th anniversary of the Belém do Pará Convention, which marked a before and after in the recognition of violence against women as a human rights violation and required States to take concrete actions to eradicate it; thirdly, it occurs in a key year for the Follow-up Mechanism to the Convention (MESECVI), which has been monitoring its implementation and promoting effective protection measures for 20 years; finally, this act is part of the commemoration of the 97th anniversary of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the world’s first intergovernmental entity dedicated to women’s rights.
