Inter-American Commission of Women
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The Inter-American Commission of Women ( es, Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres, pt, Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres, french: Commission interaméricaine des femmes), abbreviated CIM, is an organization that falls within the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
. It was established in 1928 by the Sixth
Pan-American Conference The Conferences of American States, commonly referred to as the Pan-American Conferences, were meetings of the Pan-American Union, an international organization for cooperation on trade. James G. Blaine, a United States politician, Secretary ...
and is composed of one female representative from each Republic in the Union. In 1938, the CIM was made a permanent organization, with the goal of studying and addressing women's issues in the Americas. CIM was the first intergovernmental organization designed specifically to address the civil and political needs of women, and in many ways has led the movement for international women's rights. In 1933, CIM became the first international organization to present a resolution for international suffrage for women, which was not ratified, as well as the first to submit a treaty which was adopted concerning women's rights. This treaty, the 1933 Convention on the Nationality of Women, established that marriage did not affect nationality. The women of the CIM submitted a resolution and attained the first international acknowledgement of women's political and civil rights (1938). They also researched and prepared the first-ever treaty on
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...
which was approved as the 1994 Belém do Pará Convention. By attaining international agreements, the delegates of the CIM are able to pressure change in their home countries to comply with those resolutions. Since 1955, CIM has regularly reported to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
on the status of women in the Americas and works to implement U.N. Conventions in the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...
.


History


Founding

When it became known that one of the three topics to be discussed at the 1930 meeting of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
would be the subject of nationality and how that could be codified in international law,
Doris Stevens Doris Stevens (born Dora Caroline Stevens, October 26, 1888 – March 22, 1963) was an American suffragist, woman's legal rights advocate and author. She was the first female member of the American Institute of International Law and first chai ...
, contained in a well-known feminist from the United States"Lee (1929)", p 5 determined that the first priority of
feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male poi ...
should be to study how law effected women's nationality. For example, at the time, upon marrying, a British woman would have lost her British citizenship had she married an Argentine, but as Argentina's law did not confer citizenship upon her for marriage, she became stateless. Stevens worked with
Alice Paul Alice Stokes Paul (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American Quaker, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the main leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ...
of the
National Woman's Party The National Woman's Party (NWP) was an American women's political organization formed in 1916 to fight for women's suffrage. After achieving this goal with the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the NW ...
of the United States to review and prepare a report evaluating how women were effected by various laws. The women compiled a monumental report, which indexed all laws controlling women's nationality from every country in their native language and then translated each law on an accompanying page. Stevens spent three months in Europe meeting with women leaders and compiling information. She met with Dr. Luisa Baralt of Havana, Dr.
Ellen Gleditsch Ellen Gleditsch (29 December 1879 – 5 June 1968) was a Norwegian radiochemist and Norway's second female professor. Starting her career as an assistant to Marie Curie, she became a pioneer in radiochemistry, establishing the half-life of radiu ...
of Oslo,
Chrystal Macmillan Jessie Chrystal Macmillan (13 June 1872 – 21 September 1937) was a suffragist, peace activist, barrister, feminist and the first female science graduate from the University of Edinburgh as well as that institution's first female honours gradu ...
and Sybil Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda of the UK, the
Marquesa del Ter Lilly Rose Cabrera, Marquise of Ter and Countess of Morella (1864 – 29 April 1936), known as the Marquesa del Ter, was the wife of the 2nd and 2nd Count of Morella, Ramón Cabrera y Richards. Born in Paris, she was a pianist and feminist who fou ...
of Spain, Maria Vérone of France and Hélène Vacaresco of Romania, as well as various officers of the
International Federation of University Women Graduate Women International (GWI), originally named the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), is an international organisation for women university graduates. IFUW was founded in 1919 following the First World War by both British and ...
and others. She held public meetings to discuss the question of nationality in Geneva, London and Paris and attended a meeting at the Assembly of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
to obtain approval of a resolution for governments to attend a meeting discussing codification of laws and encouraged them to include women in their delegate selections. The resolution was submitted and passed unanimously."Lee (1929)", p 2 In anticipation of a cooperative meeting between women in Europe and the Americas a conference was held at the Pan American Union to present the topic of women's nationality."Lee (1929)", p 3 As a result, the governing body of the Pan American Union created the Inter-American Commission of Women at their meeting in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
on 4 April 1928. The provision called for a commission composed of seven women from the countries of the Americas and that those women should review data and prepare information to allow the Seventh Pan American Conference to consider women's civil and political equality in the region. It also called for expansion of the commission to eventually have one delegate for each country in the Pan American Union. Stevens, who had suggested the commission was appointed as chair and the other six countries were selected by lot. The chosen countries were Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Panama, and Venezuela and the appointed delegates were Dr. Ernestina A. López de Nelson from Argentina, María Elena de Hinestrosa from Colombia, María Alvárez de Guillén Rivas from El Salvador, Alice Téligny Mathon from Haiti, Clara González from Panama and Lucila Luciani de Pérez Díaz from Venezuela."Lee (1929)", p 4


1930 Havana meeting

The headquarters of the CIM were to be located in Washington DC in the offices of the Pan-American Union, but there was no organized staff and only some of the women had the backing of their governments. Most were chosen from the women's organizations in their countries. To foster on-going unity and continuity, the women decided to meet every two years, in addition to meeting for the scheduled Pan-American Conferences. As such, the first meeting was held in Havana in 1930. The members were, Flora de Oliveira Lima (Brazil), Aída Parada (Chile), Lydia Fernández (Costa Rica), Elena Mederos de González (Cuba), Gloria Moya de Jiménez (Dominican Republic), Irene de Peyré (Guatemala), Margarita Robles de Mendoza (Mexico), Juanita Molina de Fromen (Nicaragua), Clara González (Panama), Teresa Obregoso de Prevost (Peru), and Doris Stevens (USA). As their governments provided no funding for their attendance, only the women from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, the United States and delegates from Alicia Ricode de Herrera (Colombia), MMe Fernand Dennis (Haiti), El Salvador by proxy and Cecilia Herrera de Olavarría (Venezuela) were able to attend, A group of psychiatrists, who had asked if they could attend and observe the meeting, intimidated the women and little was accomplished.


1933 extension

At the Seventh Pan-American Conference, held in
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, Uruguay the women presented their analysis of the legal status of women in each of the twenty-one countries in the Pan-American Union. It was the first report ever to study in detail the civil and political rights of women and it had been prepared solely by women. The conference considered and rejected the proposed Treaty on the Equality of Rights for Women, though it was signed by Cuba, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Three of those states had already granted suffrage to women, and none of the four ratified the Treaty after the conference. However, the women had presented the first international resolution to recommend suffrage for women."Towns (2010)", p 795 The women presented their materials which showed the disparity between rights of men and women. For example, in 16 countries of the Americas women could not vote at all, in two countries they could vote with restrictions and in three countries they had equal enfranchisement. In 19 of the American countries, women did not have equal custody over their children, including in 7 US states and only 2 countries allowed joint authority for women of their own children. None of the Latin American countries allowed women to serve on juries and 27 US states prohibited women from participating in juries. Divorce grounds in 14 countries and 28 states were disparate for men and women and a woman could not administer her own separate property in thirteen countries and two US states. Conference reviewed the data and approved the first international agreement ever adopted concerning the women's rights—the Convention on the Nationality of Women. The instrument made it clear that should a woman marry a man of a different nationality, her citizenship could be retained. The specific language was, "There shall be no distinction based on sex as regards to nationality". In addition, the conference passed the Convention on Nationality which established that neither marriage nor divorce could affect the nationality of the members of a family, extending citizenship protection to children as well. The
Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...
administration argued that the women's job had been completed. Rather than voting for a continuation of the CIM, the Conference voted as a unit, with the exception of Argentina, to block the US proposal to shut down the women."Towns (2010)", p 796


1938 permanent status

At the 1938 Conference of the Pan-American States, held in Lima, Peru, the US delegation introduced two resolutions. The first, which was actually aimed at wresting control of CIM from Doris Stevens, proposed reorganizing the Inter-American Commission of Women, making it permanent and giving each government the means to appoint their own "official" representative. Disregarding the other delegates' lack of support, the Roosevelt administration maintained that Stevens was not an official US representative as she had been appointed by the Pan-American Union and appointed Mary Nelson Winslow of the US Department of Labor's Women's Bureau as their delegate. Ultimately, the US initiative was adopted and the CIM was fully reorganized between 1938 and 1940 as a subsidiary commission of the Pan-American Union. It lost its autonomy becoming an official governmental entity bound by state aims, but gained official financing and support."Towns (2010)", p 799 The other was a resolution endorsing protective legislation for women. Feminismo Peruano ZAC, the primary suffrage organization in Peru,"Towns (2010)", p 797 publicly took a position similar to the US and split from the official position of Stevens and CIM to back the Equal Rights Treaty. The Peruvian women, couched their plea for suffrage in terms of protection of traditional values of the church, the family, charity and honor. Giving women the vote so that they could help protect these fundamental goals of the nation,"Towns (2010)", p 798 the Lima Declaration in favor of Women's Rights proposed that women rights included "political treatment on the basis of equality with men, ndto the enjoyment of equality as to civil status...to full protection in and opportunity for work, ndto the most ample protection as mothers". The resolution was approved and was the first international acknowledgement of women's political and civil rights leading the way for other international organizations to follow suit."Threlkeld (2014)", 196


War years and 1940s

In November 1939, the CIM headquarters were moved to Buenos Aires and the chairmanship of the organization passed from Winslow"Threlkeld (2014)", 197 to Ana Rosa de Martínez Guerrero of Argentina. During the 1940s United States' backing of women's political rights supported the emancipation goals of the CIM, which increasingly called for its delegates to adopt proactive roles for suffrage. Voting rights were passed in El Salvador in 1939 and the Dominican Republic in 1942. The CIM delegates drafted multiple resolutions calling on the governments of the Americas to grant women suffrage and the 1943 meeting required delegates to work for both civil and political rights for women in their home countries instead of just observing and reporting on women's statuses. As further incentive, bulletins began to specifically mention delegates' activities, and what progress was being made. The 1944 assembly included women delegates from 19 of the 21 member countries of the Pan-American Union and 1945 saw Guatemala and Panama granting enfranchisement, followed by Argentina and Venezuela in 1947."Towns (2010)", p 802 In October 1945, the CIM delegation successfully moved that the phrase "the equal rights of men and women" be inserted into the United Nations Charter, citing the precedent of the 1938 Lima Declaration. The 9th Pan-American Conference, held in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, Colombia, in 1948 culminated in the passage of two resolutions: the Inter-American Convention on Granting of Political Rights to Women and the Inter-American Convention on the Granting of Civil Rights to Women. With the Conference approval for the creation of the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
, the CIM was brought under its umbrella and became an international forum for bringing women's issues into public discourse.


Mid-century to close of the 20th century

The push for suffrage of all member states continued to be a focus for the women through the early 1960s, with
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
being the last of the original member states to grant emancipation in 1961. The decades from the 1960s to the 1990s also saw the additions of the Nations of the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
gaining their independence, joining the OAS and sending women delegates to the CIM. With the addition of
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
and
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
in 1990, the organization's membership was representative of all independent nations in the Americas except
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. Canada joined as an observer member in 1972, and the focused changed from voting rights to protections against violence, and for health and employment programs. By the 1970s
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
perspectives had emerged with a recognition of gender-bias in terms of cultural, social and historical construction based on the biological basis of sex. There was recognition that biological sex itself does not create disparity, but rather the perceived differences of gender roles as defined by cultures and social tradition. In order for equality to occur, CIM recognized that cultural, economic, political and social systems needed to be evaluated and redesigned so that women and men equally benefit. They introduced the Regional Action Plan, targeted to include working class and indigenous women as well as the traditional educated, middle-class women of previous decades. The CIM completed around 200 projects, between 1975 and 1985, ranging from entrepreneurship training to animal husbandry, from leadership training to skills development, from development of craft cooperatives to developing of labor unions and from providing legal aids to creating political awareness and participation. In the late 1980s use of rape as a tool in war by official regimes in
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
, and other places across Latin America was exposed, while the traditional taboo on
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
was gradually eroded at the same time, forcing violence against women into the forefront of public discourse. As most military dictatorships fell across Latin America during the Third Wave of Democratization (1978–1995), women began to pressure their civilian governments to address the systemic violence against women from
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. In 1988, CIM strategy followed its model of creating international norms to press for national governmental change. To that end, the women determined to draft an Inter-American Convention focusing on violence against women and scheduled a special consultative meeting in 1990. The 1990 Inter-American Consultation on Women and Violence was the first diplomatic meeting of its kind. At the convention, the women thoroughly evaluated the issue of gender based violence and then organized two inter-governmental meetings of experts to assist with clarification of issues to draft a proposal. The final instrument, which would become known as the 1994
Convention of Belém do Pará Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...
, was the first treaty to ever address violence against women. It was presented at a Special Special Assembly of CIM delegates in April 1994, who approved it and endorsed its submission to the General Assembly of the OAS. It was adopted at
Belém do Pará Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...
, Brazil, in June 1994, and has been endorsed by 32 of the 34 member States of the OAS. The delegates of the CIM continued to press for international agreements throughout the Americas that effect change and protect women. In 1998, they adopted the Declaration of Santo Domingo, which recognized that women's inalienable rights exist throughout their lifetime and are an "integral, and indivisible part of universal human rights".


21st century beginnings

In 2000 the first Hemispheric Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Women was held and a new plan adopted for the new century. Thirty-three of the member states sent delegates and in addition, the meeting was attended by
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
US Secretary of State; Gladys Caballero de Arévalo, Vice President of Honduras;
María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila (born 31 October 1956) is a Salvadoran lawyer who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the country from 1999 to 2004. She worked as a Director of Corporate Sustainability at HSBC for Latin America and is ba ...
, Foreign Minister of El Salvador; Indranie Chandarpal, Guyana's Minister of Human Services and Social Security and CIM Vice president; Graciela Fernández Meijide, Argentinian Minister of Social Development and the Environment; and
Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez Marisabel Rodríguez Oropeza (born 23 November 1964) is a Venezuelan journalist, publicist and radio announcer. She is best known for having been the second wife of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Early life Rodríguez was born in B ...
, First Lady of Venezuela. The women adopted the "Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women's Humans Rights and Gender Equity and Equality" with the goal of legal equality between men and women.


Current organization

The current organizational structure calls for the Assembly of Delegates to meet every two years to examine hemispheric issues and evaluate reports of progress or concern. Meetings are held in even years and the elections which occur are effective for two-year periods of the following odd years. For example, at the last meeting held in 2014 officers were elected to begin serving in 2015–2017. The CIM Executive Committee has eight delegates elected at the bi-annual Assembly of Delegates meetings. They meet at more regular intervals to address areas of immediate concern. The Executive Committee membership has developed as follows: Every four years, CIM organizes the Meeting of Ministers or Meeting of the "Highest-Ranking Authorities responsible for the Advancement of Women in the Member States" (REMIM). This meeting brings together those highest ranking women from each of the OAS member states for a discussion of policy, key issues, and recommendations of topics for ministerial level meetings, such as the
Summit of the Americas The Summit of the Americas (SOA) is an international summit meeting that brings together the leaders of countries in the Organization of American States (OAS). Cuba was expelled from the OAS under pressure from the United States after the Cuban Re ...
. At its discretion, the CIM can call discretionary meetings or extraordinary meetings to discuss policy, hold seminars of awareness or other educational or organizational meetings to advance the causes of women.


Previous officers/delegates

* 1930–40 Margarita Robles de Mendoza, Mexico * 1930–36/1945–49
Marta Vergara Marta Vergara Varas (2 January 1898 – 1995) was a Chilean author, editor, journalist and women's rights activist. Introduced to international feminism in 1930, she became instrumental in the development of the Inter-American Commission of Women ...
, Chile * 1938–48 María Currea Manrique, Colombia * 1941–54
Ángela Acuña Braun Ángela Acuña Braun, also known as Ángela Acuña de Chacón, (2 October 1888 – 10 October 1983), a Costa Rican lawyer, women's rights pioneer and ambassador, was the first woman to graduate as a lawyer in Central America. Orphaned at the a ...
, Costa Rica * 1947–51 Chair
Minerva Bernardino Minerva Bernardino (1907 – August 29, 1998) was a diplomat from the Dominican Republic who promoted women's rights internationally, and is best known as one of the four women to sign the original charter of the United Nations. Biography Berna ...
, Dominican Republic * 1947–51 Vice Chair Amalia González Caballero de Castillo Ledón, Mexico * 1957–61 President
Graciela Quan Graciela Quan Valenzuela (1911 – 22 January 1999) was a Guatemalan lawyer and activist. She campaigned for women's suffrage, writing a draft proposal for Guatemala's enfranchisement law. She was also a social worker, adviser to the President ...
, Guatemala * 1957–61 Vice chair Frances Marron Lee, the United States


Notes


References


External links


Inter-American Commission of Women records
at the
Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, ar ...
, Smith College Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Inter American Commission of Women
Inter-American Commission of Women The Inter-American Commission of Women ( es, Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres, pt, Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres, french: Commission interaméricaine des femmes), abbreviated CIM, is an organization that falls within the Organization of ...
International diplomatic organizations International organizations based in the Americas International political organizations United States–South American relations Organizations established in 1928 United Nations General Assembly observers 1948 establishments in the United States Organizations based in Washington, D.C.