A Comparison of the Belém do Pará Convention and the Istanbul Convention: An Evaluation of Their Common Standards and Dissimilarities.

Abstract

Violence against women is an international and regional concern resulting in legal instruments to tackle this phenomenon. This paper analyses and compares two regional agreements – the Belém do Pará and Istanbul Conventions – in terms of context, definitions, due diligence and positive obligations to protect human rights, and monitoring mechanisms. This evaluation of these conventions aims to improve their guidance for States to implement effective measures to protect women’s rights against abuse. The Belém do Pará lacks clarification in certain provisions compared with the Istanbul Convention. While both Conventions provide States with opportunities to exercise discretion in applying due diligence to protect women, the Belém do Pará Convention provides discretion through general provisions while the Istanbul Convention limits discretion through restricted provisions. As a result, the Istanbul Convention provides more comprehensive protection for women victims of violence.