Abstract
The Inter-American System of Human Rights has proven itself to be a forum for the advancement of women’s rights. From developing the first women’s rights treaty specifically designed to address violence against women to issuing reparations that require states to prevent gender discrimination, the Inter-American System has increasingly led the way in promoting a women’s rights lens to examine international human rights law. While its efforts to uncover the causes of women’s rights violations may fall short at times, the jurisprudence emerging from the Inter-American System of Human Rights provides lessons on how to, and how not to, develop women’s rights litigation. This chapter provides an overview of the regional system’s women’s rights convention (the Convention of Belém do Pará), highlights notable advancements in developing women’s rights in the Inter-American region, and discusses several landmark women’s rights cases recently decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. It concludes by looking forward to the Inter-American System’s upcoming challenges and opportunities for advancing women’s rights in the region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abi-Mershed EAH (2009) Due diligence and the fight against gender-based violence in the Inter-American system. In: Benninger-Budel C (ed) Due diligence and its application to protect women from violence. Brill, Leiden, pp 127–137
Burbano-Herrera C (2010) Provisional measures in the case law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Intersentia, Antwerp
Cardenas A (2014) Interview with author. Washington, DC, 27 August
Cavallaro J, Schaffer EJ (2004) Less as more: rethinking supranational litigation of economic and social rights in the Americas. Hastings L J 56(2):217–282
Celorio R (2014) Interview with author. Washington, DC, 28 August
Center for Reproductive Rights (2013) Despite country’s own laws, Costa Rica continues to deny women legal abortion. Available at http://www.reproductiverights.org/press-room/despite-country%E2%80%99s-own-laws-costa-rica-continues-to-deny-women- legal-abortion
Craske N, Molyneux M (2002) The local, the regional and the global: transforming the politics of rights. In: Craske N, Molyneux M (eds) Gender and the politics of rights and democracy in Latin America. Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp 1–31
Crenshaw K (1989) Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum 139–167
Crenshaw K (1991) Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford L Rev 43(6):1241–1299
Feria Tinta M (2007) Justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights in the Inter-American system of protection of human rights: beyond traditional paradigms and notions. Human Rts Q 29(2):431–459
García-Del Moral P, Dersnah MA (2014) A feminist challenge to the gendered politics of the public/private divide: on due diligence, domestic violence, and citizenship. Citizenship Stud 18(6–7):661–675
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (n.d.-a) Hearings and other public events: rights of women. Available at http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/audiencias/TopicsList.aspx?Lang=en&Topic=15
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (n.d.-b) Women – Judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/women/decisions/ia_Court_HR.asp
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (n.d.-c) Women – reports on petitions and cases. Available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/women/decisions/iachr.asp
MacKinnon CA (2007) Are women human? And other international dialogues. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Melendez L (2014) Interview with author. Lima, Peru, 9 July
MESECVI (2012) Second hemispheric report on the implementation of the Belém do Pará Convention. Organization of American States. Available at https://www.oas.org/en/mesecvi/docs/mesecvi-segundoinformehemisferico-en.pdf
Mohanty CT (2003) Feminism without borders: decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Duke University Press, Durham
OAS (1969) American Convention on Human Rights. Available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/mandate/basic_documents.asp
OAS (1999) Guidelines for participation of civil society organizations in OAS activities. Available at http://www.oas.org/consejo/resolutions/res759.asp
OAS (2009) Rules of procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2009). Available at http://www.cidh.oas.org/Basicos/English/Basic20.Rules%20of%20Procedure%20of%20the%20Court.htm
OAS (2013) Rules of procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (2013). Available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/mandate/Basics/rulesiachr.asp
OAS (n.d.-a) Basic documents in the Inter-American system. Available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/mandate/basic_documents.asp
OAS (n.d.-b) What we do. Available at http://www.oas.org/en/about/what_we_do.asp
Pasqualucci JM (2013) The practice and procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, New York
Petchesky R (2003) Global prescriptions: gendering health and human rights. Zed Books, London
Puente Tolentino RP (2014) Interview with author. Lima, Peru, 30 June
Rapporteur on the Rights of Women (2011a) Access to information on reproductive health from a human rights perspective, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States. Available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/women/default.asp
Rapporteur on the Rights of Women (2011b) Access to justice for women victims of sexual violence, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States. Available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/women/default.asp
Shelton D (1999) The promise of regional human rights systems. In: Weston BH, Marks SP (eds) The future of international human rights. Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden
Vargas V (2002) The struggle by Latin American feminisms for rights and autonomy. In: Craske N, Molyneux M (eds) Gender and the politics of rights and democracy in Latin America. Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp 199–221
Zuloaga PP (2008) The path to gender justice in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Texas J Women L 17(2):227–295
Law and Cases
Artavia Murillo et al. (‘In vitro fertilization’) v. Costa Rica (2012) Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ser. C) no. 257 preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs
Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz et al. v. Guatemala (2013) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Report no. 53/1, Case 12.777 Merits
FS v. Chile (2014) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Petition 112–09, Report no. 52/14 admissibility
González et al. (‘Cotton Field’) v. Mexico (2009) Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ser. C) no. 205, preliminary objection, merits, reparations, and costs. Available at http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_205_ing.pdf
IV v. Bolivia (2016) Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ser. C) no. 329, preliminary objection, merits, reparations, and costs
Linda Loaiza López Soto and Relatives v. Venezuela (2016) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Case 12.797, Report no. 33/16, submitted to Inter-American Court
Lluy and Others v. Ecuador (2015) Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ser. C) no. 298, preliminary exceptions, merits, reparations and costs
Manuela v. El Salvador (2017) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights petition 424-12, Report no. 29/17 admissibility
Velásquez Pais et al. v. Guatemala (2016) Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ser. C) no. 307 preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
O’Connell, C. (2019). Women’s Rights and the Inter-American System. In: Reilly, N. (eds) International Human Rights of Women. International Human Rights. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8905-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8905-3_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8904-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-8905-3
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences