AMERICAS: Secretary General Insulza Reaffirms OAS Commitment to Fight Violence Against Women

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, affirmed that the efforts to modernize and strengthen the mechanisms directed to the elimination of violence against women continue to be a priority. He did so in San José, Costa Rica, in the context of the OAS's fight for the promotion and defense of human rights.

In the presence of the Costa Rican President, Laura Chinchilla, the topmost representative of the hemispheric organization opened the sixth meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Implementation of the Convention of Belem do Pará, which brings together 34 delegates from around the continent to analyze from a technical perspective the fulfillment of the convention by participating States.

The Secretary General of the regional organization quoted ECLAC figures that indicate that “some 40 percent of women are victims of physical violence, including sexual violence, and some 60 percent suffer emotional violence,” and warned about the need to produce local figures that allow for comparison and to highlight the magnitude of the flagellum that affects women at all stages of their lives.

Upon placing emphasis on the convention of Belem do Pará as the continental mechanism that most States have ratified and therefore the one which “reflects the most consensus,” he emphasized that “we must intensify our work to reach the elimination of violence against the female gender at the state level as much as at the private level and to achieve better prevention, investigation, punishment and restitution.”

Secretary General Insulza nevertheless pointed out the existing contradiction between the level of awareness and agreement on the issue and the poor quality of the response by the judicial sphere. He said that “this situation not only creates a feeling of defenselessness and distrust but transmits a perception of impunity about a perpetrator who isn't punished according to the severity of his acts of violence.”

Highlighting the most important points that must be reviewed in the San José meeting, the OAS Secretary General called to “continue looking for effective ways to prevent and sanction violence against women.” In this sense, he indicated that “the effective access to justice is a necessary step that can only be achieved with the joint work of the States, who must design integral policies with adequate public resources.”

The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), a specialized entity of the OAS, acts as technical secretariat of the Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism to Implement the Convention of Belem do Pará. The CIM is the main forum generating hemispheric policies for the promotion of the rights of women and gender equity. Ambassador Carmen Moreno, Executive Secretary of the CIM, was present in San José.

At the Presidential Palace

On Monday afternoon, at the Presidential Palace, the Secretary General was welcomed by President Chinchilla and Foreign Minister René Castro, with whom he spoke about the situation in Haiti, the possible return of Honduras to the OAS, and about the complex challenges that drug trafficking and crime create in the region. President Chinchilla thanked the presence of Secretary General Insulza and recognized the important role of the Organization as a place for permanent dialogue between the Member States, and as a forum for debate of the principal problems that afflict the countries of the continent.

Previously, the topmost OAS representative was welcomed by the judges of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which is headquartered in the Costa Rican capital. The president of the Court, Diego García-Sayán, thanked the Secretary General for his visit and emphasized the importance of this institution, which has become the top hemispheric court of justice to all social sectors.

A photo gallery of the event is available here.