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Last Updated: Jan 26, 2012 - 1:53:00 PM |
The
Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved
today at a regular session, the Report of the Special Working Group to
Reflect on the Workings of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) with a View to Strengthening the Inter-American Human Rights
System (IAHRS).
The document, to be submitted for consideration
by the Foreign Ministers of Member Countries, is the product of the
deliberations made during the last six months by the Working Group
established for this purpose within the Permanent Council. The report
contains an assessment of the operation of the Inter-American System and
makes recommendations on: its challenges and objectives, precautionary
measures, procedural matters, criteria for the development of Chapter IV
of the Annual Report of the IACHR, friendly settlements, promotion of
human rights, and financial strengthening of the System.
In terms
of challenges the report identified, among others, the need to achieve
universality of the IAHRS; ensure full compliance with the
recommendations and decisions of its organs; achieve a better balance
between promotion and protection of all human rights; increase
efficiency and expediency in the processing of petitions and cases, and
move toward greater transparency in the management of the IACHR.
In
that sense, the Working Group recommended preparation of a report on
the impact of the non-universality of the Convention on Human Rights and
its related instruments and urged member states that are not yet
parties to consider the signing and ratification of the Convention and
to recognize the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court.
On
the issue related to the system of precautionary measures, the report
suggests, among others, to refine the procedural aspects of this system
and to ensure the strict observance of the regulatory framework of the
IACHR. It also recommends that the Commission "define objective criteria
or parameters for determining serious and urgent situations and the
imminence of the harm, taking into account the different risk levels."
Also, to state and give reasons for the legal and factual elements
considered for granting, reviewing, and, extending or lifting
precautionary measures, and improve the mechanisms for determining and
individually identifying beneficiaries of precautionary measures.
In
regard to the friendly settlement, the Working Group considered that
“other proposals could be explored to give the IACHR a more active role
in friendly settlement procedures, to promote and facilitate them
through its conciliation and monitoring function." And in terms of
financial strengthening of the System, the countries suggested measures
to “gradually increase the resources allocated to the IAHRS organs from
the Regular Fund of the OAS, in a manner commensurate with the needs and
priorities identified,” and to assign adequate, sufficient, and
balanced resources to all its rapporteurships, working groups, and
units, as well as an efficient and transparent management of those
resources.
The full text of the approved report is available here.
At
the session, the delegations of Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia,
Argentina, Nicaragua, Canada, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Guatemala, El
Salvador, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Unites States, and Dominica spoke, as
well as the President of the Working Group that produced the report,
the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OAS, Joel Antonio
Hernandez.
In his speeches, delegates agreed on the importance of
autonomy and independence of the IACHR to maintain its credibility,
legitimacy and efficacy. They highlighted specific issues of the report,
particularly those related to the strengthening of precautionary
measures, independence and autonomy of the Commission, the procedures
for dealing with individual cases and petitions, the Commission's role
to promote and protect human rights, and the need for a greater
efficiency and agility in the processing of petitions and cases, among
others.
Representatives of Member Countries considered the
adopted report, as an example of a process of open, transparent, and
multilateral dialogue, and advocated for the recommendations to be
implemented and to serve to strengthen the observance of human rights on
the continent. They also defended the establishment of a more open and
frequent dialogue between the Commission and the Member Countries and to
make effective the principle of universality of the system.
The
ambassadors also noted that the financial strengthening of the IAHRS
needs necessary and urgent attention, and made a strong call to take
measures to ensure its long-term financial viability through the
appropriate allocation of resources that ensure the independence,
sustainability and planning of their activities.
Following the
debate, the Chair of the Commission, Dinah Shelton, thanked the
delegates of the countries and especially the Working Group for the
report, calling it "very valuable." "We welcome the recommendations,
especially those that support the independence and autonomy of the
Commission," said Commissioner Shelton, who said that the Commission is
considered an organ of universal jurisdiction. "Our legitimacy depends
upon transparency, fairness, justice and adherence to the law," she
said, and concluded by announcing that the Commission will give "high
priority" to study all recommendations approved today.
The statement of the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, on this issue is available (in Spanish)here.
For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.
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