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HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS MEET AT OAS

The lack of access to judicial protection for many people in the Americas constitutes one of the main problems and challenges for human rights and the consolidation of democracy, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, noted today as he opened the Second Annual Meeting on Human Rights.

The forum has brought together representatives of civil society, the academic sector and experts from around the region to examine issues related to the strengthening of democracy and human rights in the hemisphere. Sponsored by American University’s Washington College of Law, along with the OAS, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and other regional entities, the meeting will continue through Saturday at OAS headquarters.

In his remarks, Insulza referred to recent studies highlighting difficulties that result from the lack of legal protection for the region’s most vulnerable groups and minorities, including indigenous peoples, Afro-descendents and women. He reiterated that “in the public arena, national juridical systems are still not designed to respond to issues that are particular to certain sectors.”

The Secretary General explained that this exercise seeks to identify problems and concrete solutions related to the access to justice in the countries of the region, with the goal of exploring how the OAS can support the member states, “going beyond theory and analysis to commitments and concrete measures that help overcome barriers in order to gain access to justice, especially for low-income and marginalized sectors of society.”

In this regard, Insulza said the region should adopt an integral approach to address the situation. The meeting of experts, he added, will help “to enrich the debate in order to provide the member states with recommendations on public policies that will help overcome these obstacles and thus strengthen democratic governance.”

For his part, IACHR President Florentín Meléndez stressed the importance of this meeting for the region and for “the new challenges and goals that are being proposed at the Commission.” He said the IACHR needs creative input from the experts so their recommendations can help “define a strategy for political action in the field of human rights that will allow us to help make structural changes in our countries.”

Meléndez added that these talks give the Commission the opportunity to hear different points of view, even when they may be critical of the human rights system, and to broaden its partnerships and strategies. Through this process, he stressed, the Commission will continue “working for the victims who have no voice.”

Reference: E-072/07