4 March 1994, in which it decided to appoint Radhika Coomaraswamy as its first United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, including its causes and consequences. The Special Rapporteur has a mandate to collect and analyse data from governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies, NGOs, and other interested parties, and to respond effectively to such information. Furthermore, they also have a role in making recommendations on an international, national and regional level, as well as liaising with other Special Rapporteurs, special representatives, working groups and independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights. Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Belém do Pará Convention): DEVAW is mentioned in the preamble of the Belém do Pará Convention of 9 June 1994. International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: UN Resolution 54/134 of 17 December 1999, which recognised 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, invoked the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (UN Resolution 48/104) twice. Problems Many women's rights advocates who believe in human rights have expressed concerns that much of the ground gained by the declaration has been threatened by the rise of more conservative forces within the international community. In March 2003, during a meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the delegate from Iran objected to the inclusion of a paragraph that called on governments to "condemn violence against women and refrain from invoking any custom, tradition, or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination as set out in the Declaration of the Elimination of Violence against Women." Representatives from Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan and US also raised objections; making it the first ever diplomatic failure at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Campaigns Each year, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women marks the start of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. Human Rights organisations such as Center for Women's Global Leadership, Unifem, Women Won't Wait, Women for a Change, Women's Aid, and other groups join together to speak out against gender violence and to promote the rights and principles of the declaration. A striking step that was taken to end the violence that women face was launched in 2008 and is known as the "Unite to End Violence against Women". This aims to raise public awareness to the