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.
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