Inter-American Commission of Women

The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) is an organization that falls within the Organization of American States. It was established in 1928 by the Sixth Pan-American Conference and is composed of one female representative from each Republic in the Union. It was continued in 1933 and in 1938 was made a permanent organization, with the goal of studying and addressing women’s issues in the Americas. It was the first intergovernmental organization designed specifically to address the civil and political needs of women.It was the first international organization ever to present a resolution for international suffrage for women in 1933. It was the first organization to submit a treaty which was adopted concerning women's rights—the 1933 Convention on the Nationality of Women, which provided that upon marriage did not effect 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 resolution on violence against women which was approved as the 1994 Convention of Belém do Pará. These firsts were based upon a strategy that has been followed by the women delegates of the CIM. By attaining international agreements, they are able to pressure change in their home countries to comply with those resolutions.