Inter-American Commission on Human Rights explained

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Abbreviation:IACHR
Formation:1959
Purpose:Human rights monitoring in the Americas
Location:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Region Served:Americas
(ACHR signatories,
OAS members)
Membership:Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
Leader Title:Executive Secretary
Leader Name: Tania Reneaum
Parent Organization:Organization of American States

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR[1] or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos, Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme, Comissão Interamericana de Direitos Humanos) is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The separate Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together the Court and the Commission make up the human rights protection system of the OAS.

Composition

The IACHR is a permanent body, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., United States,[2] and it meets in regular and special sessions several times a year to examine allegations of human rights violations in the hemisphere.[3]

Its human rights duties stem from three documents:

History of the Inter-American human rights system

The inter-American system for the protection of human rights emerged with the adoption of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man by the OAS in April 1948 the first international human rights instrument of a general nature, predating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by more than six months.[6] [7]

The IACHR was created in 1959. It held its first meeting in 1960, and it conducted its first on-site visit to inspect the human rights situation in the Dominican Republic in 1961.

A major step in the development of the system was taken in 1965 when the commission was expressly authorized to examine specific cases of human rights violations. Since that date the IACHR has received thousands of petitions and has processed in excess of 12,000 individual cases.

In 1969, the guiding principles behind the American Declaration were taken, reshaped, and restated in the American Convention on Human Rights. The Convention defines the human rights that the states parties are required to respect and guarantee, and it also ordered the establishment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. It is currently binding on 24 of the OAS's 35 member states.

The commission's performance has not been always welcomed. Among others, Venezuela has accused the Commission of politicization. Others criticize the commission's stress on certain issues over others. These criticisms have given rise to what was called the "Strengthening Process of the Commission". This process began in 2011, led by the States belonging to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.[8] [9]

Functions

The main task of the IACHR is to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the Americas.[10]

In pursuit of this mandate it:

Rapporteurships and units

The IACHR has created several thematic rapporteurships and two special rapporteurships to monitor OAS states' compliance with inter-American human rights treaties in the following areas:[11]

The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and the are full-time dedicated positions. The former was created in 1997, while the latter was established in 2017, with Soledad García Muñoz of Argentina as the first holder of the office.[19] [20] The other rapporteurships are in the hands of the commissioners, who have other functions at the IACHR and also their own jobs in their home countries, since their work as commissioners is unpaid.

Rapporteurships are initially established by the commission as thematic units prior to being upgraded to rapporteurships.

The IACHR also has a Press and Outreach Office.[21]

Petitions

The Commission processes petitions lodged with it pursuant to its Rules of Procedure.

Petitions may be filed by NGOs or individuals. Unlike most court filings, petitions are confidential documents and are not made public. Petitions must meet three requirements; domestic remedies must have already been tried and failed (exhaustion), petitions must be filed within six months of the last action taken in a domestic system (timeliness), petitions can not be before another court (duplication of procedure).

Once a petition has been filed, it follows the following procedure:

Composition

The IACHR's ranking officers are its seven commissioners. The commissioners are elected by the OAS General Assembly, for four-year terms, with the possibility of re-election on one occasion, for a maximum period in office of eight years. They serve in a personal capacity and are not considered to represent their countries of origin but rather "all the member countries of the Organization" (Art. 35 of the convention).The convention (Art. 34) says that they must "be persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights".No two nationals of the same member state may be commissioners simultaneously (Art. 37), and commissioners are required to refrain from participating in the discussion of cases involving their home countries.

Current commissioners (2023)

Name State Position Elected Term
Margarette May Macaulay JamaicaPresident 2015 2016–2023
Esmeralda Arosemena de TroitiñoFirst Vice-President 2015 2016–2023
Second Vice-President 2021 2022–2025
PeruCommissioner 2019 2020–2023
ChileCommissioner 2019 2020–2023
Commissioner 2021 2022–2025
One seat is currently vacant following the resignation of Joel Hernández García of Mexico on 3 August 2023.[22]
Source of IACHR Composition.[23]

Past commissioners

Year State Commissioners President (post-2001)
Chairman (pre-2001)
1960–1963 1960
1960–1964
1960–1968
1960–1972
1960–1972 Durward V. Sandifer
1960–1972
1960–1979 Gabino Fraga
1964–1968 Daniel Hugo Martins
1964–1983 Carlos A. Dunshee de Abranches
1968–1972 Mario Alzamora Valdez
1968–1972 Justino Jiménez de Arechega
1972–1976
1972–1976
1972–1985
1976–1979 Carlos García Bauer
1976–1979
1976–1983 Tom J. Farer
1976–1978 José Joaquín Gori
1978–1987
1980–1987 Francisco Bertrand Galindo
1980–1985 César Sepúlveda
1980–1985
1984–1988 R. Bruce McColm
1984–1987
1984–1991 Gilda Maciel Correa Russomano
1986–1989
1986–1993 Marco Tulio Bruni-Celli
1986–1993 Oliver H. Jackman
1988–1991 John Reese Stevenson
1988–1995 Leo Valladares Lanza
1988–1995
1990–1997
1992–1995 Michael Reisman
1994–1997 John S. Donaldson1997
1998–1999 Sir Henry de Boulay Forde
1992–1999 1995
1996–1999 Carlos Ayala Corao1998
1996–1999 Jean-Joseph Exumé
1994–2001 1996, 2001
1998–2001 2000
1999–2001 Peter Laurie
2002–2002
1996–2003 Robert K. Goldman1999
2000–2003 2003
2000–2003 2002
2000–2003 Julio Prado Vallejo
2002–2005 Susana Villarán
2001–2005 2004
2004–2007 Evelio Fernández Arévalos2006
2004–2007 Freddy Gutiérrez
2002–2009 Sir Clare Kamau Roberts
2004–2009 Florentín Meléndez
2006–2009 Víctor Abramovich
2006–2009 Paolo Carozza2008
2004–2011
2008–2011 Luz Patricia Mejía2009
2009–2011 María Silvia Guillén
2010–2013 Rodrigo Escobar Gil
2010–2013 Dinah Shelton
2008–2015 Felipe González Morales2010
2012–2015 2015
2012–2015 2014
2012–2015
2017–2019
2016–2019
2018–2021
2018–2021
2018–2023

Executive Secretaries

The staff of the IACHR comprise its Secretariat, which is led by an Executive Secretary, who serves for what have recently been four-year, renewable contracts.

In August 2020, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro announced that he would not renew Paulo Abrão's contract as Executive Secretary of the IACHR, citing 61 personnel complaints by staff of the organization.[24] The Commissioners of the IACHR had unanimously approved the contract extension in January 2020, and expressed their "profound rejection" of Almagro's action "whose refusal to renew this contract breaks with a 20-year practice of respecting the IACHR's decision to appoint its own Executive Secretary and thus makes it difficult to obtain truth, justice, and reparation for those whose labor rights have been affected." UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, Human Rights Watch, and the Mexican government have also objected to Abrão's removal.[25] [26]

Tania Reneaum, a Mexican, was appointed as the new Executive Secretary in 2021.[27]

Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights! Name !! Country !! Term !! Notes
Luis Reque1960 – June 1976
Charles D. MoyerJanuary – August 1977 Interim Executive Secretary.
Edmundo Vargas CarreñoSeptember 1977 – March 1990
David J. Padilla March – June 1990 Interim Executive Secretary.
Edith Márquez RodríguezMay 1990 – February 1996
David J. Padilla January – May 1996 Interim Executive Secretary.
Jorge Enrique TaianaMarch 1996 – July 2001
August 2001 – June 2012
Emilio Álvarez IcazaAugust 2012 – August 2016
Paulo AbrãoAugust 2016 – August 2020
María Claudia Pulido Colombia17 August 2020  - June 2021Acting Executive Secretary.
Tania Reneaum Panszi[28] MexicoJune 2021  - present
Source: OAS, Former IACHR Executive Secretaries.

Human rights violations investigated by the Inter-American Commission

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Individual Petition System Portal . 2020-08-30. OAS. August 2009 . en.
  2. News: Hansel . Mary . There's a Way to Appeal Dobbs. It's Worth Trying. . Slate . August 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220809073245/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/08/dobbs-abortion-international-law-appeal-worth-trying.html . August 9, 2022 . Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current.
  3. Web site: OAS. 2009-08-01. OAS – Organization of American States: Democracy for peace, security, and development. 2020-09-17. OAS. en.
  4. http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/index.asp OAS
  5. Book: Morsink, Johannes. 1999. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting, and Intent. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press. 131. 0-8122-3474-X.
  6. Goldman, Robert K. "History and Action: the Inter-American Human Rights System and the Role of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights." Human Rights Quarterly 31 (2009): 856-887.
  7. Web site: OAS – Organization of American States: Democracy for peace, security, and development. OAS. 2009-08-01. OAS. en. 2019-09-28.
  8. Web site: 23 March 2013 . Controversial Inter-American Reforms Process to Continue | Inter Press Service . 19 November 2019 . Inter Press Service.
  9. News: 9 June 2012 . Chipping at the foundations . 19 November 2019 . The Economist.
  10. Web site: INTRODUCTION. 2020-10-14.
  11. Web site: Rapporteurship Distribution. 2009-08-01. OAS. en. 2019-09-28.
  12. http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/indigenous/default.asp Rapporteurship on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  13. http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/women/default.asp Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women
  14. http://www.cidh.org/Migrantes/defaultmigrants.htm Rapporteurship on Migrant Workers and their Families
  15. http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/children/ Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child
  16. http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/defenders/default.asp Rapporteurship on Human Rights Defenders
  17. http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/afro-descendants/default.asp Rapporteurship on the Rights of Afro-Descendants and against Racial Discrimination
  18. Web site: OAS :: IACHR :: Rapporteurship on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, and Intersex Persons :: Rapporteurship on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, and Intersex Persons .
  19. Web site: Soledad García Muñoz es la primera Relatora Especial sobre Derechos Económicos, Sociales, Culturales y Ambientales (DESCA) – Codehupy . 2023-04-06 . www.codehupy.org.py.
  20. Web site: Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights . IACHR . 2 September 2023.
  21. Web site: Contact the IACHR Press Office . OAS. en. 2019-09-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191006045538/http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/contact.asp . Oct 6, 2019 .
  22. Web site: IACHR announces departure of Commissioner Joel Hernández García . IACHR Press Office . 4 August 2023.
  23. Web site: OAS. 2009-08-01. OAS – Organization of American States: Democracy for peace, security, and development. 2021-12-19. OAS. en.
  24. News: OAS chief Almagro under fire for removal of top rights official. Buenos Aires Times. 2020-09-27.
  25. News: 2020-08-28. Luis Almagro reafirma que no renovará a Paulo Abrao en la CIDH. El Espectador. Bogotá, Colombia. 2020-09-27.
  26. Web site: 2020-08-27. OAS Leader Undermining Rights Body. 2020-09-27. Human Rights Watch.
  27. Web site: Tania Reneaum Panszi Takes Office as IACHR's New Executive Secretary . 2024-03-30 . Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) . en.
  28. Web site: Padilha . Saulo . 2023-01-27 . “We will continue to make progress in strengthening the Commission and in our mission to secure and protect human rights in the region” . 2024-03-29 . Sur - International Journal on Human Rights . en-US.
  29. http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/occidente/2008-08-28/la-masacre-de-trujillo-fue-escogida-por-la-cnrr-como-eje-de-su-informe-sobre-crimenes-emblematicos_4470978-1 La masacre de Trujillo fue escogida por la CNRR como eje de su informe sobre crímenes emblemáticos
  30. Web site: Report No. 20/99 . IACHR . 23 February 1999.
  31. Web site: Report No. 56/98 . IACHR . 8 December 1998.
  32. Web site: Report No. 42/99 . IACHR . 11 March 1999.
  33. News: Peru; New Defense Minister takes office. 13 April 2013. Defense Market Intelligence. 25 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20131106002438/http://dmilt.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3756:peru-new-defense-minister-takes-office&catid=35:latin-america&Itemid=58. 6 November 2013. dead.
  34. Web site: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Organization of American States) REPORT Nº 98/03*. https://web.archive.org/web/20111001020855/http://www.dcvote.org/pdfs/oas1203w.pdf. dead. 1 October 2011.
  35. News: Human rights group questions court ruling. The Pueblo Chieftain. Patrick. Malone. 16 August 2011.
  36. News: Human rights court agrees to hear Guantanamo detainee case . . Michael Haggerson . 31 March 2012 . 6 April 2012 . The IACHR will investigate whether the US's failure to transfer Ameziane is in compliance with international human rights law. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120402153328/http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/03/human-rights-court-agrees-to-hear-guantanamo-detainee-case.php . 2 April 2012 .
  37. Web site: Mexico: Expert report on Ayotzinapa disappearances highlights government's incompetence. Amnesty International. 7 September 2015. 6 September 2015. A new report by a group of experts from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on the investigation of the disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero, Mexico, uncovers the authorities' utter incompetence and lack of will to find the students and bring those responsible to justice, said Amnesty International..

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