Inter-American Commission of Women facts for kids

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Inter-American Commission of Women

Inter-American Commission of Women Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres Commission interaméricaine des femmes
English-language version of the CIM logo (since 2020)
OAS member states where the CIM operates
Abbreviation	CIM
Formation	1928
Founded at	Havana, Cuba
Purpose	"Shape the public policy agenda from a rights-based perspective for the full citizenship of women and the elimination of gender-based discrimination and violence"
Location	Washington, D.C.
Region	OAS member states
Fields	Women's rights
Official language	Spanish, English, Portuguese, French
Executive Secretary	Alejandra Mora Mora
Board of directors	Executive Committee
Main organ	Assembly of Delegates
Parent organization	Organization of American States (OAS)

The Inter-American Commission of Women (Spanish: Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres, Portuguese: Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres, French: Commission interaméricaine des femmes), known as CIM, is a special group within the Organization of American States (OAS). It was started in 1928 and works to improve the lives of women across North and South America. Each country in the OAS sends a woman to represent them in the CIM.

CIM was the first international organization created just to help women with their civil and political rights. It has been a leader in the global movement for women's rights. For example, in 1933, CIM was the first international group to suggest that women should be able to vote everywhere. Even though this idea wasn't fully accepted at first, CIM kept pushing.

CIM also helped create the first treaty about women's rights. This treaty, from 1933, said that a woman's nationality shouldn't change just because she gets married. Later, CIM also helped create the 1994 Belém do Pará Convention, which was the first treaty to deal with violence against women. By getting these international agreements, CIM helps countries make changes at home to protect women's rights. Since 1955, CIM has also worked with the United Nations to improve the status of women in the Americas.

How the CIM Started

Early Steps for Women's Rights

In the late 1920s, a famous American feminist named Doris Stevens realized that laws about nationality were unfair to women. For example, if a British woman married an Argentine man, she could lose her British citizenship. But if Argentina didn't give her citizenship for marriage, she would have no country at all!

Doris Stevens worked with Alice Paul to study these laws. They created a huge report that showed how nationality laws affected women in many countries. Stevens traveled around Europe, meeting with women leaders and gathering information. She wanted to make sure that women's voices were heard when international laws were being discussed.

Creating the Commission

Because of these efforts, the Pan American Union decided to create the Inter-American Commission of Women. This happened in Havana, Cuba, on April 4, 1928. The idea was to have a group of seven women from different American countries. Their job was to study women's civil and political rights.

Doris Stevens was chosen to lead this new commission. Other early delegates came from Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Panama, and Venezuela. The plan was to eventually have one woman delegate from every country in the Pan American Union.

First Meetings and Challenges

The CIM's main office was in Washington D.C., but it didn't have much staff or funding at first. Many delegates were chosen from women's groups in their countries. To keep their work going, the women decided to meet every two years.

Their first meeting was in Havana in 1930. Not all delegates could attend because their governments didn't provide money for their travel. Despite these challenges, the women were determined to push for change.

Big Steps in 1933

At a major meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1933, the CIM presented its detailed report on the legal status of women in 21 countries. This was the first report of its kind, created entirely by women. It showed how unfair laws were to women. For instance, in 16 countries, women couldn't vote at all. In 19 countries, mothers didn't have equal rights over their own children.

Even though a proposed treaty for equal rights for women wasn't fully accepted, the CIM achieved something very important. They helped pass the first international agreement ever about women's rights: the Convention on the Nationality of Women. This agreement stated clearly that "There shall be no distinction based on sex as regards to nationality." This meant women could keep their citizenship even if they married someone from another country.

CIM Becomes Permanent

In 1938, at a conference in Lima, Peru, the CIM became a permanent organization. This meant it would have official funding and support from governments. This was a big step, even though it also meant the CIM became more tied to government goals.

At this conference, a resolution was passed that recognized women's political and civil rights. This was a major achievement and paved the way for other international groups to follow.

CIM's Work Through the Years

During and After World War II

During the 1940s, the CIM continued to push for women's right to vote. Countries like El Salvador (1939) and the Dominican Republic (1942) granted women the right to vote. CIM delegates were encouraged to actively work for civil and political rights in their home countries. By 1945, most countries in the Pan-American Union had women delegates.

In October 1945, the CIM successfully argued for the phrase "the equal rights of men and women" to be included in the United Nations Charter. This was a huge win for women's rights worldwide.

In 1948, at a conference in Bogotá, Colombia, two important agreements were passed: one for women's political rights and another for their civil rights. When the Organization of American States (OAS) was created, CIM became part of it. This made CIM an important place for discussing women's issues on an international level.

From Mid-Century to the 2000s

CIM kept working for women's voting rights until the early 1960s, with Paraguay being the last original member state to grant women the right to vote in 1961. As more countries in the Caribbean became independent, they joined the OAS and sent women delegates to CIM.

By the 1970s, CIM started focusing on "gender" issues. This meant understanding that differences between men and women are not just biological, but also shaped by culture and society. CIM realized that to achieve equality, cultural, economic, political, and social systems needed to change.

CIM launched the Regional Action Plan, which aimed to help not just educated, middle-class women, but also working-class and indigenous women. Between 1975 and 1985, CIM completed about 200 projects. These projects included training women for businesses, teaching leadership skills, helping create craft groups, and providing legal help.

Fighting Violence Against Women

As many military governments in Latin America ended, women began to demand that their new governments address violence against women. In 1988, CIM decided to create an international agreement to fight this violence.

In 1990, CIM held the first diplomatic meeting of its kind to discuss violence against women. This led to the 1994 Convention of Belém do Pará, which was the first treaty ever to focus on violence against women. It was approved by 32 of the 34 OAS member states. This treaty was a huge step in protecting women from violence.

In 1998, CIM adopted the Declaration of Santo Domingo. This declaration stated that women's rights are human rights and should be protected throughout their lives.

CIM in the 21st Century

New Goals for a New Century

In 2000, the first Hemispheric Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Women was held. Leaders from 33 member states attended, including important figures like Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Secretary of State. They adopted a new plan called the "Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women's Humans Rights and Gender Equity and Equality." The main goal was to achieve legal equality between men and women.

How CIM Works Today

The CIM has an Assembly of Delegates that meets every two years. They discuss issues affecting women across the Americas and check on progress. Elections for leaders happen at these meetings.

There is also an Executive Committee with eight delegates. They meet more often to deal with urgent issues. Here are some of the past leaders of the Executive Committee:

CIM Executive Committee

Years of Service	Title	Name	Countries	Notes/ Details
2013–2015	President	Maureen Clarke	Costa Rica
2013–2015	Vice President	Marie Yanick Mezile	Haiti
2013–2015	Vice President	Markelda Montenegro de Herrera	Panama
2013–2015	Vice President	Beatriz Ramírez Abella	Uruguay
2013–2015	Members at Large		Barbados, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and the United States
2011–2013	President	Rocío García Gaytán	Mexico
2011–2013	Vice President	Magdalena Faillace	Argentina
2011–2013	Vice President	Irene Sandiford-Garner	Barbados
2011–2013	Vice President	Sonia Escobedo	Guatemala
2011–2013	Members at Large		Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago
2009–2011	President	Laura Albornoz Pollman*	Chile	*resigned in October 2009 and remainder of term was filled by Wanda K. Jones the United States
2009–2011	Vice President	Jeanette Carrillo Madrigal*	Costa Rica	*resignation in November 2009 and remainder of term was filled by Loretta Butler-Turner Bahamas
2009–2011	Members at Large		Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Colombia, Mexico and the United States
2007–2009	President	Jacqui Quinn-Leandro	Antigua and Barbuda
2007–2009	Vice President	Martha Lucía Vazquéz Zawadsky	Colombia
2007–2009	Members at Large		Brazil, Guatemala, Haiti, Peru and Uruguay
2005–2007	President	Nilcéa Freire	Brazil
2005–2007	Vice President	María José Argaña de Mateu	Paraguay
2005–2007	Members at Large		Argentina, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Suriname
2003–2005	President	Yadira Henríquez	Dominican Republic
2003–2005	Vice President	Florence Ievers	Canada
2003–2005	Members at Large		Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay, the United States and Venezuela
2001–2003	President	Indranie Chandarpal	Guyana
2001–2003	Vice President	Nora Uribe	Venezuela
2001–2003	Members at Large		Canada, El Salvador, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Uruguay
1999–2001	President	Dulce Maria Sauri Riancho	Mexico
1999–2001	Vice President	Indranie Chandarpal	Guyana
1999–2001	Members at Large		Argentina, Colombia, Jamaica, Paraguay and the United States

Every four years, CIM organizes a special meeting for the highest-ranking women in charge of women's issues in each OAS member state. This meeting helps them discuss policies and suggest topics for bigger international meetings. CIM can also call other meetings, seminars, or educational events to help advance women's causes.

Important Past Leaders

• 1930–40 Margarita Robles de Mendoza, Mexico
• 1930–36/1945–49 Marta Vergara, Chile
• 1938–48 María Currea Manrique, Colombia
• 1941–54 Ángela Acuña Braun, Costa Rica
• 1947–51 Chair Minerva Bernardino, Dominican Republic
• 1947–51 Vice Chair Amalia González Caballero de Castillo Ledón, Mexico
• 1957–61 President Graciela Quan, Guatemala
• 1957–61 Vice chair Frances Marron Lee, the United States

See also

In Spanish: Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres para niños