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OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1828 (XXXI-O/01)
5 June 2001
Original: Spanish
EVALUATION OF THE WORKINGS OF THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM FOR THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS WITH A VIEW TO
ITS IMPROVEMENT AND STRENGTHENING /(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on June 5, 2001;
subject to review by the Style Committee)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN:
The report of the Permanent Council on the evaluation and improvement of the inter-American system for the protection and promotion of human rights, submitted pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1701 (XXX-O/00) (CP/doc. /00);
The report of the Chair of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs on the dialogue on the inter-American system for the protection and promotion of human rights (CP/CAJP- ), conducted under the aegis of the Committee, which identifies the various items addressed, progress made, agreements reached, and items requiring further study;
The proposals and comments of the Governments of Costa Rica (CP/doc.3405/01); Mexico (CP/CAJP-1754/01); Brazil (CP/CAJP-1755/01 and CP/CAJP-1784/01); the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CP/CAJP-1781/01); the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CP/CAJP- ); nongovernmental organizations (CP/ ); the register of national authorities (CP/doc.3407/01); the documents to the Technical Secretariat of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Human Rights: project to promote human rights in the Americas (CP/CAJP- ); and funding the inter-American human rights system (CP/CAJP- ); and
The joint note of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CP/CAJP- ); and
BEARING IN MIND that the member states of the Organization of American States have proclaimed, in Article 3 of the OAS Charter, as one of the principles of the Organization, the fundamental rights of the individual, without distinction as to race, nationality, creed, or sex; and
AWARE that the international promotion and protection of human rights enhances and complements the protection afforded under the domestic law of the member states and is based on the freedom and dignity of the individual; and
CONSIDERING:
That the Heads of State and Government, meeting at the Third Summit of the Americas in Canada in April 2001, stated in the Declaration of Quebec City "[o]ur commitment to full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms based on shared principles and convictions. We support strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of the inter-American human rights system, which includes the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. We mandate the thirty-first regular session of the General Assembly of the OAS to consider an adequate increase in resources for the activities of the Commission and the Court in order to improve human rights mechanisms and to promote the observance of the recommendations of the Commission and compliance with the judgments of the Court";
That, in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, the Heads of State and Government decided to "continue promoting concrete measures to strengthen and improve the inter-American human rights system, in particular the functioning of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), focusing on: the universalization of the inter-American human rights system, increasing adherence to its founding instruments, complying with the decisions of the Inter-American Court and following up on the recommendations of the Commission, facilitating the access of persons to this protection mechanism and substantially increasing resources to maintain ongoing operations, including the encouragement of voluntary contributions, and examining the possibility that the Court and the IACHR will function permanently";
That the Heads of State and Government instructed the General Assembly of the OAS, at its thirty-first regular session in San José, Costa Rica, to initiate actions to meet the above-mentioned goals;
That the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights adopted new Regulations, which entered into force on May 1, 2001;
That the Inter-American Court of Human Rights adopted new Rules of Procedure, which entered into force on June 1, 2001;
That the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs made substantial progress in identifying and studying concrete measures, as well as areas requiring more in-depth study, to consolidate an efficient human rights system capable of facing future challenges, and strengthened ongoing dialogue, thereby creating a political environment of mutual trust among the different players, owing to the openness, transparency, and gradual, constructive participation of the member states, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, and representatives of national and international nongovernmental organizations; and that it is essential for the dialogue to continue as part of the effort gradually to build consensus on this issue;
That governmental efforts in the Hemisphere intended to improve and strengthen the inter-American human rights system, including the possibility of evaluating the pertinent juridical instruments and the methods and working procedures of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, should be designed to strengthen the effective exercise and protection of human rights in the Hemisphere and should go into greater depth in the study and evaluation thereof;
That, to that end, it is essential that all member states consider, as appropriate, signing, ratifying, or acceding to the American Convention on Human Rights; the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; the Additional Protocol to the American Convention to Abolish the Death Penalty; the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture; the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons; the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women; and the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities;
That some member states have made a valuable contribution to the universal adoption of the inter-American instruments by ratifying the various inter-American human rights treaties and accepting the binding jurisdiction of the Court, thereby strengthening the inter-American system; and
That the establishment of a specific body under the aegis of the Permanent Council may be required to address the topics of the dialogue on the evaluation and strengthening of the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights,
RESOLVES:
1. To instruct the Permanent Council to begin taking concrete steps aimed at implementing the mandates of the Heads of State and Government with respect to strengthening and improving the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights set forth in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, focusing on:
a. Universal adoption of the inter-American human rights systems;
b. Implementation of the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and follow-up of the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
c. Greater access for individuals to the inter-American system of human rights;
d. A substantial increase in the budgets of the Court and of the Commission, devising a plan whereby, within a reasonable time, the organs of the system may address their growing activities and responsibilities and ensure the effectiveness of the system and of the use of resources allocated; and establishment of a specific fund to strengthen the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights intended to encourage voluntary contributions to benefit the organs of the system and to enhance their efforts to promote the system and achieve its universal adoption;
e. Studying the possibility that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights come to operate on a permanent basis, taking into account, among other things, the views of those organs.
2. To instruct the Permanent Council to:
a. Continue to consider the participation of victims in proceedings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights;
b. Study, with the support of the General Secretariat and taking into account the views of the Court and Commission, the relationship between the Regulations of the Commission, the Rules of Procedure of the Court, the provisions of the Statutes of those organs, and the American Convention on Human Rights;
c. Promote the exchange of experiences and best practices in adjusting the provisions of international human rights law to domestic law;
d. Continue to go into greater depth in the dialogue on the inter-American human rights system with a view to its improvement and strengthening by ensuring participation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; inviting the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and representatives of nongovernmental organizations; and promoting the participation of national institutions involved in the promotion and protection of human rights, taking into consideration for such purposes the register of national institutions (CAJP/CP…);
e. Study the possibility of establishing a specific body under the aegis of the Permanent Council to address issues related to human rights; and
f. Promote, within the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, the exchange of information on institutional experiences and the development of national mechanisms for the protection of human rights, to obtain an overview, in the framework of the Organization, of the link that must exist between national systems for the protection of human rights and the inter-American system.
3. To urge the OAS member states to continue to:
a. Focus their efforts on the universal adoption of the inter-American human rights system, pursuant to the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, by increasing the number of countries that have acceded to its basic instruments and, to that end, urge countries that have not yet done so to consider signing, ratifying, or acceding to, as soon as possible and as appropriate, the American Convention on Human Rights and other instruments in the system;
b. Take such necessary legislative steps or other measures as are required to ensure the application of inter-American human rights provisions within the states;
c. Take the necessary steps to implement the decisions or judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and make every effort to implement the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and
d. Take appropriate action in connection with the annual reports of the Court and the Commission, in the framework of the Permanent Council and the General Assembly of the Organization, in order to give full effectiveness to the duty of the states to ensure compliance with the obligations emanating from the instruments of the system.
4. To thank the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for presenting their new Regulations and Rules of Procedure, respectively, which entered into force on May 1, and June 1, 2001, respectively.
5. To invite the Commission and the Court to continue supporting the strengthening of the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights and, in particular, to consider the possibility of:
a. Including in its annual reports information on compliance by the States Parties with the recommendations, decisions, or judgments issued in the period under consideration by the two organs. The General Assembly shall study that information;
b. Presenting to the Permanent Council regular evaluations and reports on the results of application of the amendments to the Regulations of the Commission and the Rules of Procedure of the Court, so as to ensure the proper working of the system; and
c. Providing the Permanent Council with statistical information reflecting the degree of accessibility to the inter-American system of human rights and enabling it to be assessed, by type of appellant or petitioner, the right on which the petitions or appeals are based, and, where applicable, the type of offense for which proceedings were brought under domestic law.
6. To acknowledge the participation and contributions of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and nongovernmental organizations in the dialogue on strengthening the system and to urge them to continue to participate in that dialogue.
7. To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee to contribute to the work of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs with respect to the dialogue on the inter-American system for the protection and promotion of human rights, when the Committee so requests.
8. To transmit this resolution to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
9. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-second regular session on the implementation of this resolution.