Human Rights Brief
A Legal Resource for the International Human Rights CommunityFall 1994
Alumnus Profile
WCL Alumnus Assists OAS in Addressing Women's Rights
by David Hyden
Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, J.D. '91, is playing a major role in the establishment of a program focusing exclusively on women's rights as part of the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. An attorney and human rights specialist at the Commission since 1992, Abi-Mershed is assisting the Commission's Special Rapporteur on Women's Human Rights and Washington College of Law professor Claudio Grossman in developing the nascent project.
Tentatively named the Status of Women in Law in the Americas, the project will focus on legislation and practice in OAS member states as they relate to women's human rights. Project members will review representative legislation and prepare assessments on both a state-by-state and sub-regional basis. Reporters will determine if the treatment of women in a subject area conforms with norms established in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights; the OAS' operative human rights documents.
Abi-Mershed points to outdated statutes that facially discriminate against women, but remain in force, as the source of most de jure violations. She cites as an example laws of several member states which provide that only women may be found guilty of adultery. De facto violations, Abi-Mershed explains, stem from a reluctance by officials to enforce existing laws on behalf of women or to significantly punish offenders. She notes that statutes often ignored by officials include labor protection and domestic violence laws intended specifically to protect women, as well as more general criminal statutes.
Abi-Mershed feels that the project is clearly in line with the histories and outlooks of the OAS and the Commission. According to Abi-Mershed, a number of official statements - including the 1938 Lima Declaration in Favor of Women's Rights, the 1948 Jamaica Convention on the Granting of Civil Rights to Women, and the 1948 American Declaration - are evidence of these organizations' strong concern for the treatment of women. She explains that "[t]he project is an expression of the Commission's historic and renewed commitment to ensuring that women fully and equally enjoy their human rights."
In addition to her duties with the women's project, Abi-Mershed is the Commission's monitor for several states in the Americas. As monitor, she is charged with conducting on-site visits and preparing draft reports for the Commission's consideration. These reports, triggered by petitions from states or individuals, determine whether there have been violations of the Convention or the Declaration. Abi-Mershed is currently pursuing her LL.M. at Georgetown University.
