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http://www.oea.org/OASpage/press_releases/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-107/07
 
OAS - ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
 
HEMISPHERIC WOMEN’S COMMISSION EXECUTIVE MEETING
HIGHLIGHTS GENDER EQUITY ISSUES
April 20, 2007

With gender equality, gender-based violence and the problem of poverty prominent on its agenda, the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) opened a meeting of its 2006-2008 Executive Committee at the Organization of American States (OAS). Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin called for an “inter-American partnership on gender issues” that would facilitate the creation of effective regional strategies.

Ambassador Ramdin urged the delegates—led by CIM President Jacqui Quinn-Leandro, of Antigua and Barbuda—to strengthen collaboration with OAS and inter-American institutions, in order “to create wider synergies” with such bodies as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

“The voice of the CIM challenges us to address the glaring deficits in gender balance and forces us to acknowledge that genuine partnership is the key ingredient for any real and lasting societal transformation,” Ambassador Ramdin asserted. “No sustainable partnership can occur if women and men remain compartmentalized,” he stressed, adding that youth and women are disproportionately represented in terms of inequality within the hemisphere. He assured the delegates that the OAS will continue to offer its full support so that gender equity is “situated at the heart of the hemispheric multilateral agenda of democracy, security and development.”

Ramdin commended the CIM’s “visionary” initiatives in bringing a gender approach to issues of conflict and peace-building, adding that the OAS specialized agency has shown excellent results in the Andean and Central American regions in particular. He also noted efforts to address gender considerations related to natural-disaster mitigation and response, urging that a gender perspective be incorporated into the work of the Inter-American Committee on Natural Disasters. He also repeated his call for a new approach to development that is “more holistic, more human and more pragmatic.”

The Assistant Secretary General also referred to Convention of Belém do Pará—which seeks to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women—and expressed confidence that its Follow-up Mechanism, developed by the CIM, will become a formidable tool to measure national and hemispheric progress in implementing that treaty.

In her remarks, Dr. Quinn-Leandro, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Labor, Public Administration and Empowerment with Responsibility for Gender Affairs, stressed that “gender-based violence must not be allowed to thrive with impunity in any of our communities.” She outlined a three-pronged strategy against the problem, based on uncompromising legislation; effective widespread sensitization programs; and available, adequate support services. “We can ill afford the social and economic costs of allowing gender concerns to languish on the periphery, and so we must redouble our efforts at mainstreaming gender into all sectors of our respective member states,” she told the delegates.

Quinn-Leandro argued that the CIM alone cannot be responsible for gender mainstreaming and for implementing comprehensive programs. “These mainstreaming efforts will only be successful with the active and ongoing engagement of all the partners and member states, in conjunction with the deep and abiding commitment of the OAS as an institution,” she declared. She stressed the need for men and women to collaborate to help attain the goals of gender equality, and dispelled misconceptions that gender mainstreaming “conflates with female-only policies.”

Minister Quinn-Leandro further explained that policies, programs and projects affect men and women differently, and said that if these “gendered differentials” are not addressed, “the results of the efforts to improve the lives of men and women are more likely to wither on the vine.” The CIM President also drew attention to the need for the agency to be adequately funded to carry out its “exponentially growing mandates.”

CIM Executive Secretary Carmen Lomellin welcomed the delegates yesterday to the two-day meeting of the 2006-2008 Executive Committee, which is examining, among other issues, the agency’s work program for that biennium. Initiatives include a focus on the Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality; the elimination of violence against women; and presentations on other related issues such as fighting the crime of trafficking in persons, especially women, children and adolescents.
 
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July 18, 2007 -- The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, urged the region's governments to implement more effective measures to address the issue of violence against women because "this constitutes the most flagrant demonstration of the existing inequality between man and women and a form of discrimination."

Insulza, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Jorge Taiana, and the President of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), Jacqui Quinn-Leandro, today opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Third Multilateral Evaluation Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Follow-Up Mechanism to the Convention of Belém do Pará, the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women.

In thanking the Argentine government for hosting this three-day meeting, Insulza conveyed to the experts his "firm conviction that democracy without women is only half democracy: you are resolutely contributing to completing democracy in our region. You and I know that this is a road that we are just beginning to travel. It will demand continued efforts from you, as much as from governments, civil society, and of course from our Organization.

Insulza noted that in spite of the formal and juridical recognition by the States that violence against women constitutes a most pressing challenge, there is a gap between the significance and the prevalence of the problem and the quality of the offered response.

"We realize that violence against women challenges their dignity, hinders their fundamental rights, diminishes their producing and learning capacity, and affects them not only psychologically and physically but in many cases even leads to death," said the Secretary General.

The CIM President acknowledged the long record of the OAS Commission of Women in the fight against gender based violence. "We believe that the follow-up mechanism should become a mandatory reference for all our government, so that the aspirations that guided the creation of the Convention of Belém do Pará can become a reality," emphasized Jacqui Quinn-Leandro.

"After three years of hard work we have reached the end of the first multilateral evaluation round. This light at the end of the tunnel shows us that we will soon be in a position to present the first progress reports to the States Parties to the Convention, which will help them strengthen and realize the work carried out in their respective countries," concluded the CIM President.
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The next step in this round will be to raise the results emanated from the Buenos Aires meeting to the Conference of States Parties, scheduled for the last trimester of the year, which the government of Venezuela has already offered to host. "It will then be up to the experts to move this task forward for the success of the Mechanism: the follow-up of the implementation of the recommendations formulated by the governments. The success of the progress that we pursue and urgently need, depends on the governments being able to adequately implement those recommendations," emphasized Insulza during his remarks.

The MESECVI Statute was adopted in October 2004. Under the mechanism's multilateral evaluation process, the States Parties evaluate Convention-related policies implemented to provide follow-up. The also receive specific recommendations as to how to attain objectives.

OAS Press release

 





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