IACHR

Press Release

IACHR Launches Preliminary Report on Poverty, Extreme Poverty, and Human Rights in the Americas

December 20, 2016

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On January 31, 2017, the IACHR decided to extend the deadline to receive comments until February 21, 2017.

Comments should be sent to [email protected] and the subject of the message should be: "Comments on Preliminary Report on Poverty and Extreme Poverty and Human Rights in the Americas".

Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presents its preliminary report on “Poverty, Extreme Poverty, and Human Rights in the Americas” and announces the opening of a comment period in which it will accept observations and additional information before issuing its final report.

The process of preparing this thematic report began in 2015. This represents a first opportunity for the inter-American human rights system to delve into the subject from a human rights perspective, analyzing the effects of poverty and extreme poverty on the enjoyment and exercise of these rights. The report also provides an opportunity to develop the legal framework establishing States’ international responsibility in this area, as well as clear standards to address the obstacles faced by the more than 165 million people in the hemisphere who live in poverty, around 69 million of whom live in extreme poverty.

The Commission is opening up the preliminary report to comments and additional information through January 31, 2017. The IACHR will take that input into consideration before issuing its final report during the first half of 2017.

The ceremony to launch the preliminary report, which is open to the public, will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 22, 2016, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., at the Mercosur Institute for Public Policy on Human Rights, located at Avenida del Libertador 8151. The IACHR appreciates that organization’s collaboration, as well as the contributions made both by civil society, academia, and social and union movements and by States in the region toward the preparation and presentation of this report. The IACHR particularly underscores the valuable and dedicated support of the European Commission, without which it would not have been possible to prepare this report.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 193/16