Remarks by Ambassador Henry Lothar Illes, Permanent Representative of the
Republic of Suriname to the OAS and President of the Permanent Council,
at the Second Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention for the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará” (MESECVI)

Washington, July 24-25, 2006

Madame Vice President of the CIM, Minister María José Argaña Mateu,
Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women, Ms. Carmen Lomellin,
Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Santiago Canton,
Madame Coordinator of the CEVI, Ms. Leila Barsted,
Distinguished Experts,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning to all,

I am very pleased to welcome you to the Second Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention for the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará” (MESECVI).

I would like first of all to congratulate you on this meeting, which initiates the first multilateral evaluation round of the MESECVI, and express my gratitude for your participation and contribution to this groundbreaking process. I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent work carried out by the Permanent Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission of Women as Technical Secretariat of the Mechanism. The advances achieved to date in implementing the MESECVI would not have been possible without the special support of the government of Mexico, which has lent not only financial resources, but also a career member of the Mexican Foreign Service, Ms. Flor de Lis Vasquez Muñoz, to work in the Technical Secretariat. We once again welcome her to this OAS family. I also want to highlight the financial contribution made by the government of Brasil to this process.

Thanks to the joint effort of governments, experts and the CIM, and a lot of hard work, we have achieved what we now have– a new tool to evaluate the progress made in our hemisphere to prevent, punish and eradicate gender-based violence, and to more speedily reach the aims and goals of the Convention of Belem do Pará. With this mechanism it will be possible to revisit our achievements, share them with other countries and develop strategies to improve weak areas.

The OAS is proud of the long standing work that has been carried out by the CIM, as a specialized organization, to fight against gender-based violence.
This serious problem for a long time was not formally recognized as a violation of human rights and was not on the domestic agenda of most of the Member States when the CIM began the process that led to the approval of the Convention of Belém do Pará by the OAS General Assembly. Since the Convention came into effect, we have constantly supported its implementation, including the creation of this “Follow up Mechanism” which is now initiating its activities.

At the Permanent Council, as well as in our countries, we are well aware that, despite all the progress achieved to date, gender-based violence persists and in some cases, is increasing. The tragedy is that violence against women affects not only the victims but also their families and ultimately, all of society. The consequences of gender based violence are social, emotional, financial and some times even physical. It can therefore result in loss of lives, lost productivity, increased costs of medical care, and lost opportunities for women and their families.

To you, distinguished experts, I would like to say that your participation in the CEVI is a badge of honor, an acknowledgement of your expertise. As a representative of the Caribbean, I am very pleased that all the CARICOM nations, as well as almost all of the OAS Member States, have signed on to this important hemispheric treaty, but I am also fully aware of the difficulties that our region has had and still has in order to comply with the demands of the Mechanism.

I may assure you that as President of the Permanent Council; I shall do all I can to promote full completion of these requirements. I am certain that my successor in this position, who is also from the Caribbean, will continue these efforts to serve our communities. We know that implementing the mechanism is a means to strengthen the human rights of women and to fight against gender-based discrimination. These are fundamental hemispheric as well as global objectives.

The eradication of violence against women is the responsibility of all, men and women, governments and civil society. I feel that all of us should become active participants, agents of change and progress in this effort, and I hope that you will not hesitate to ask for my support in your endeavors.

I look forward to the results of this first meeting of the multilateral evaluation process and wish you great success in your deliberations.

Thank you.