Protecting Human Rights

The OAS human rights system provides recourse to people in the Americas who have suffered human rights violations by the state. Its pillars are the Inter-American         Commission on Human Rights, based in Washington, D.C., and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, based in San Jose, Costa Rica. 

The OAS earned its reputation as a firm defender of human rights during decades of military dictatorships in the region. Today, in an era when democracy has taken root across the hemisphere, citizens continue to bring a large number of cases to be heard. During the year 2000, the Inter-American Commission received 681 written complaints about human rights violations and opened 110 new cases, according to its latest annual report (available at www.cidh.oas.org). 

Democratic governments “inspire the trust that allows citizens to appeal to international bodies of protection when they believe the state does not recognize their rights,” Commission President Claudio Grossman said recently. Because of advances in democracy, the nature of the cases being heard is changing, he said. Increasingly, citizens are not alleging disappearances, executions or torture, but reporting violations of due process, freedom of expression and protection against discrimination. The focus on these rights will help to strengthen and perfect democracy, Grossman said. However, he cautioned, “there is still a long road to travel” to ensure the full respect for human rights in the hemisphere. 

At the Third Summit of the Americas, held in April 2001 in Quebec City, Canada, the presidents and prime ministers called on the OAS to initiate action on a number of concrete measures to strengthen and enhance the inter-American human rights system. The Summit Plan of Action set out a number of broad goals, including: adherence by all OAS member countries to the human rights system and its founding legal instruments; compliance with Court judgments and observance of Commission recommendations; easier access for citizens to human rights protections; and substantial increases in resources, including voluntary contributions, to the system. The leaders also instructed the OAS General Assembly to examine the possibility that the Commission and the Court—both of which meet only in periodic sessions—become permanently functioning bodies. 

The Commission and the Court 

The inter-American system was built on the foundations of the 1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, a landmark document adopted six months before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Convention, which entered into force in 1978, created the Court and the modern two-tiered system in place today. 

One of the Inter-American Commission’s key functions is to examine petitions filed by individuals who claim the violation of a protected right by the state. Once applicable requirements are met, the Commission will process a petition, report its findings and, where appropriate, recommend measures to be carried out by the state to remedy the violation. If the country involved has accepted the Inter-American Court’s compulsory jurisdiction, the Commission may submit a case to the Court for a final binding decision. In 2001, the rules of procedure for both the Commission and the Court were amended to give victims and their representatives a more direct voice in proceedings and to make it easier for cases to reach the Court.   

The Court and Commission have other duties as well. In addition to hearing such cases, the Court also may exercise its advisory jurisdiction to interpret the American Convention and other human rights treaties in effect in the hemisphere. The Commission conducts on-site visits to different countries to analyze and report on the status of human rights. In some cases, it is asked by a member state to investigate and report on a particular human rights situation within its territory. The Commission also regularly examines human rights issues as they relate to certain key topics. It has appointed Special Rapporteurs to analyze and report on the rights of women (Marta Altolaguirre), the rights of indigenous peoples (Julio Prado Vallejo, Claudio Grossman), the rights of migrant workers (Juan Méndez), the rights of displaced persons (Robert Goldman), the rights of the child (Hélio Bicudo) and freedom of expression (vacant).

Where Countries Stand 

Under the OAS Charter, all member states are subject to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the provisions of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. The following countries are parties to the American Convention on Human Rights: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. (Trinidad and Tobago has formally withdrawn from the Convention.)  

The following countries have accepted the Inter-American Court’s compulsory jurisdiction: Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. In 1999, Peru announced that it no longer accepted the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction, but the Court subsequently ruled that such a decision was “inadmissible” and that the only way for a state to withdraw from its obligations would be to denounce the American Convention entirely. After former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori left office, Peru’s transitional government moved to normalize its relationship with the Court.  

For more information:

Santiago A. Canton,
Executive Secretary,
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Tel: (202) 458-6002

Fax: (202) 458-3992

cidhoea@oas.org

Last updated: September 2001