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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Organization of American States (OAS)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In observance of International Women’s Day 2016, a forum was held in the Hall of the Americas of the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W, on Tuesday, March 8, under the theme, “Breaking Barriers to Justice: Ending Violence Against Women in the Americas.” The Mission of the United States to the OAS, the Mission of Canada to the OAS and the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) partnered to organize the “round-table event with a view to raising awareness of the importance of approaching the issues of violence against women and access to justice from a perspective of diversity.”
The forum focused on “identifying existing challenges and models in the region related to the protection of violence against women and girls, especially for those who are also members of the afro-descendant, indigenous, LGBTI, disabled and/or formerly incarcerated community,” according to the forum’s prepared program. Miss Tracee Dorestant, Bahamas Embassy Second Secretary/Vice Consul and Alternate Representative to the OAS, was among those attending the event. Prior to the panel discussions, opening remarks were delivered by Ms. Sarah Sewall, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights at the U.S. State Department, and Mr. Nestor Mendez, OAS Assistant Secretary General, who is a former Ambassador of Belize to the United States and former Permanent Representative of Belize to the OAS.
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