BELÉM DO PARA CONVENTION
According to the text published on the website of the IACHR (OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Mujeres98-en/Chapter%201.htm , “The Inter-American Convention on Violence against Women, known as the 'Convention of Belém do Pará', is unique. In the regional system, the development and entry into force of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish, and Eradicate Violence against Women represents a reformulation of inter-American human rights law to be applied in a gender-specific manner.”
On the same website it is stated that:
“The Convention of Belém do Pará recognizes that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between women and men. Violence against women is defined in Article 1 as:
any act or conduct, based on gender, that causes death or physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to a woman, whether in the public or private sphere.
The elaboration of the Convention on Violence against Women is firmly based on the basic rights already recognized in the inter-American human rights system, including the right to life; physical and mental integrity, personal freedom; and equal protection of and before the law. Article 5 recognizes that violence prevents and nullifies the exercise of other fundamental rights by women and provides that: 'Every woman has the right to the free and full exercise of her civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and can count on them fully. protection of these rights as embodied in regional and international instruments on human rights.' The Convention also addresses the interrelationship between gender-based violence and discrimination, establishing in Article 6 that a woman's right to be free from violence includes, among others :
The right of women to be free from all forms of discrimination; and,
The right of women to be valued and educated, free from stereotyped patterns of behavior and social and cultural practices based on concepts of inferiority or subordination.
The document is very emphatic regarding the obligation of the signatory countries to implement the legislative standards detailed in the document and also to provide data and statistics so that the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the Belém do Para convention, called MESECVI, can evaluate and accompany each signatory Country in the effective implementation of the determinations expressed in the document.
The document on THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS, accessible at: http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Mujeres98-en/Chapter%201.htm attests that:
“Implementing and enforcing women's right to be free from violence requires determining when gender-based violence triggers state responsibility. Article 7 of the Convention sets out the main commitments of States Parties to ensure that their agents refrain from any 'act or practice' of gender-based violence and to 'apply due diligence' to prevent, investigate and punish violence against women whenever that it occurs. States Parties must take the necessary measures to fulfill the objectives of the Convention, and women victims of violence must have access to available and effective resources to obtain measures of protection or to seek restitution or reparation.”