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YWCA Toronto Welcomes Canada's Ratification of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women (Belém do Pará Convention)

July 2026

YWCA Toronto celebrates the federal government's announcement that Canada has ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women (also known as the Belém do Pará Convention).

The announcement, made by the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality, signals a commitment to safeguard human rights and promote gender equity across the country and across the globe.

Through ratification, Canada commits to the following principles outlined in the Convention:

  • That violence against women is a violation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and impairs or nullifies the observance, enjoyment and exercise of such rights and freedoms;
  • That violence against women is an offense against human dignity and a manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between women and men;
  • That violence against women pervades every sector of society regardless of class, race or ethnic group, income, culture, level of education, age or religion and strikes at its very foundations;
  • That the elimination of violence against women is essential for their individual and social development and their full and equal participation in all walks of life; and
  • That the adoption of a convention on the prevention, punishment and eradication of all forms of violence against women is a positive contribution to protecting the rights of women and eliminating violence against them (Belém do Pará Convention, 1994).

Notably, YWCA Toronto is encouraged by the inclusion of gender diverse people in the government's announcement. The Convention was originally adopted by the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1994 and thus contains outdated language. However, this does not limit governments or other actors from building inclusivity into their language and any resulting legislation, policy, or programs. Women, girls, and gender diverse individuals face disproportionate risks of gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence (IPV), and all efforts to eliminate this violence must be inclusive.

YWCA Toronto envisions a radical transformation of society where all girls, women, and gender diverse people can thrive. We believe the ratification of the Belém do Pará Convention is a positive move towards that transformation. While celebrating this momentous news, we continue to hold in our hearts the knowledge that rates of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence in Canada continue to increase.

We look to the future with hope and tenacity, and we remind all levels of government that their words must be followed by action.

Background:

The Belém do Pará Convention was the first international legal instrument to recognize violence against women as a violation of human rights and to define the duties of governments in terms of prevention, investigation, support for survivors, and accountability for perpetrators of violence.

In March 2025, the Honourable Mélanie Joly and the Honourable Marci Ien (at the time, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Women and Gender Equality, respectively) announced Canada's signing of the Belém do Pará Convention. Signing a Convention is a political commitment and is the first of the two-step process towards ratification, which has now been completed. Ratification is the formal, binding legal act wherein a government consents to be bound by the Convention's rules.

Notably, Canada's ratification of the Belém do Pará Convention is complementary to our international legal commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Canada ratified in 1981.


 

MEDIA
Sami Pritchard, Director of Advocacy and Communications, YWCA Toronto
437.286.9627 | spritchard@ywcatoronto.org