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Message from the President of the Inter-American Commission of Women on the Day of Women of the Americas

"On the occasion of the Day of Women of the Americas and the commemoration of another anniversary of the creation of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), it is my pleasure to share with you a few thoughts.

2010 was a year of holistic evaluations as a result of the commemoration of several important international instruments for women’s human rights: CEDAW, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Belém do Pará Convention, among others.

Throughout 2010 we also celebrated the Inter-American Year of Women, under the theme of “Women and Power: for a world of equality”. The analyses undertaken as part of this commemoration led the Governments of the hemisphere to adopt the Declaration of the Inter-American Year of Women, as a result of the XXXV Assembly of Delegates of the CIM (Mexico, November 2010). This declaration ratifies the commitment to broaden women’s participation and strengthen their capacity to intervene in the democratic processes of each nation, on the basis of their own interests and demands.

Within the context of this Assembly, CIM also assumed the immediate and urgent task of strengthening and positioning CIM as a hemispheric policy forum for the promotion of the equitable and egalitarian participation of the women of the region in all public and private-level decision-making processes.

We are convinced that the achievement of parity, not only in political spaces, but also in education and family responsibilities, is an indicator of quality of democracy. This implies the recognition of the rights of women and men in equality of circumstances and opportunities, as well as a structural change in social relations, with the understanding that the exercise of women’s civil and political rights is inextricably linked to the achievement of their economic autonomy.

With a representative and plural Executive Committee and in collaboration with the CIM Permanent Secretariat, we can position the interests of all the women of the continent, with a commitment to involving multiple actors and sectors, to securing political will and human and financial resources, and to fostering cooperation and synergy with other regional inter-governmental mechanisms – above all through a constant dialogue with civil society and the women’s movement.

Today we celebrate the Day of Women of the Americas with enormous satisfaction at the commencement of work of the new United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. We are convinced that UN Women will serve as a catalytic bridge for change and will contribute to enshrining the principles of gender equality as an integral part of development, peace and security in the Americas.

I reiterate to you our commitment to achieving the objectives that we have set ourselves and I reaffirm our profound recognition of the women of the hemisphere who have dedicated such enthusiasm, and who continue to dedicate their daily work, to the construction of more just and equal societies, eradicating all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence."

María del Rocío García Gaytán
President of the Inter-American Commission of Women

Reference: E-539/11