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Deprived of Liberty
Promotion and Other Activities
2013
Presentation in Panama of the IACHR's Report on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas
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On June 14, the Rapporteur launched in person the Report on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas in the city of Panama, in a ceremony organized by the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), which was also attended by Mrs. Carmen Rosa Viila, Regional Representative for Central America of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN, officials from the Government of Panama and representatives of civil society.
Expert Meeting on “Indicators for Measuring the Use of Pre-Trial Detention: What does “exceptional measure” in pre-trial justice mean in the Americas?”
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On April 25-26, 2013 a representative from the Rapporteurship participated in a meeting of experts on “Indicators for Measuring the Use of Pre-Trial Detention: What does “exceptional measure” in pre-trial justice mean in the Americas?” This meeting was held in Bogota, Colombia. It was organized by Open Society/Justice Initiative and the Regional Network on Pre-Trial Justice of Latin America. The opening session was offered by a representative of the Rapporteurship, who presented the topic: “Registration of Detainees and Measurement of the Use of Preventive Detention in International Human Rights Law.”
Expert Meeting on “The Right to Reparation for Torture: the Role of African Human Rights Mechanisms.”
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On April 5-6, 2013, the Coordinator of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, Maria Claudia Pulido, participated, along with the Assistant Executive Secretary, Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, in the Expert Meeting called “The Right to Reparation for Torture: the Role of African Human Rights Mechanisms.” This event took place on Kololi, Gambia, and was organized by the Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and The REDRESS Trust, in collaboration with other organizations.
The Rapporteurship officially launched the Report on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas
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On March 15, 2013, in the context of the 147th Period of Sessions of the IACHR, the Rapporteurship officially launched the Report on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, in the Padilha Vidal Room at the Headquarters of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Participants in this panel included Ambassador Andres González Diaz, Chairman of the CAJP of the OAS; Ambassador Guillermo Marin, Deputy Observer from Spain before the OAS; Dr. Veronica Filippeschi Program Officer for the Americas of the Association on the Prevention of Torture (APT); and Commissioner Rodrigo Escobar Gil, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty of the IACHR. Dr. Emilio Álvarez Icaza, Executive Secretary of the IACHR acted as a moderator of the panel.
2012
Enhancing cooperation between the United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms
A specialist of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty participated in the international workshop on “Enhancing cooperation between the United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms”, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland from December 12 to 14. The specialist spoke during the first session in the panel on “How to improve information sharing between UN and regional human rights mechanisms, based on the example of prevention of torture mandates and activities”. Commissioner Dinah Shelton and Executive Secretary of the IACHR Emilio Alvarez Icaza also participated in this workshop.
This event had as its objective identifying means for enhancing cooperation between the United Nations’ human rights mechanisms and the regional human rights mechanisms, specifically in the following three areas: information sharing, joint activities and the follow-up to each other’s recommendations.
Related documents:
Presentation of Thematic Report and Other Activities in Mexico
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On October 9-10, the staff attorney/specialist with the Office of the Rapporteur participated in a series of promotional events in Mexico organized by the Mexico City Human Rights Commission (CDHDF) and the Institute of Criminal Justice (Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal). The activities included a presentation of the IACHR's Report on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, in the Digna Ochoa Room II of the CDHDF. Participants included Rosalinda Salinas—one of the CDHDF officials (Segunda Visitadora General) who handles complaints and investigates human rights violations—and Gerardo Sauri, Secretary for Promotion and Involvement in Public Policy. A roundtable was also held with civil society organizations on the use of pretrial detention in Mexico, and a visit was carried out to the Reclusorio Norte prison in Mexico City.
For more information on the opinions expressed by participants at the presentation of the IACHR's Report on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, see Press Bulletin 376/12 issued by the CDHDF.
Other useful links:
Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal (CDHDF)
Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal
Third Meeting of Authorities Responsible for Penitentiary and Jail Policies
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On September 17 and 18, 2012, the team of the Rapporteurship and the IACHR Executive Secretary , Emilio Álvarez-Icaza, participated in the Third Meeting of Authorities Responsible for Penitentiary and Jail Policies. This meeting was organized in the context of the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or other Ministers or Attorney Generals of the Americas (REMJA), and in follow up to Resolution AG/RES.2657 (XLI-0/11). At this technical meeting, the delegats of the member States discussed topics such as the administration of penitentiaries, good practices that some countries have implemented, rehabilitiation and social reintegration programs, and the main challenges that the States of the region face to realize the respect and guarantee of fundamental rights of the persons deprived of liberty.
In its presentation, the team of the Rapporteurship emphasized the duty of the States in adopting policies orientated to the managing of the penitentiaries.
Presentation of the Rapporteurship at this event (in Spanish only)
Recommendations of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
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In February, a specialist from the IACHR Executive Secretariat represented the Office of the Rapporteur at a roundtable held in the state Oaxaca, Mexico, on recommendations made by the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. The event took place February 1-2, 2012, at Vasconcelos University. The aim of the event was to draw attention to a report adopted by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture on May 27, 2009, and to follow up on recommendations that body issued after its 2008 visit to Mexico. The activity was organized by the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT).
2011
Latin American Meeting on Justice Before the Trial
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An IACHR specialist participated, in representation of the Office of the Rapporteur, in a Latin American Meeting on Justice Before the Trial, held November 29 - December 2, 2011 in Cocoyoc, Morelos, Mexico. The event was organized by Open Society/Justice Initiative and the Project Presumed Innocent of Mexico.
Download the programme -only available in Spanish (pdf)
Donwload the list of participants - only available in Spanish (pdf)
First State Seminar for the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (September 2011)
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The Rapporteur, Rodrigo Escobar Gil, participated imparting a conference in the First International Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Persons Deprived of Liberty, held November 9-11, 2011, in Medellin, Colombia. The event was sponsored by, among others, the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.
Global Forum of the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT)
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The coordinator of the Office of the Rapporteur, Human Rights Specialist María Claudia Pulido, participated in the Global Forum of the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) on the effective implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), held in Geneve, Suitzerland.
Human Rights Brief Interview with Commissioner Rodrigo Escobar Gil
On its Spring 2011 edition (Volume 18, Issue 3), Human Rights Brief of American University's Washington College of Law published an interview with Commissioner Rodrigo Escobar Gil, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty. The interview was published in English and Spanish, and it is available in this PDF document, which we reprinted with the magazine's authorization.
First State Seminar for the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (September 2011)
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On September 29-30, 2011, the Office of the Rapporteurship participated in the First State Seminar for the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ("Seminário Estadual para a Prevenção da Prática de Tortura e de outros Tratamentos ou Penas Cruéis, Desumanos ou Degradantes"), which was organized by the Minas Gerais Secretariat for Social Development and its Sub-Secretariat for Human Rights. Leonardo Hidaka, a Human Rights Specialist at the IACHR, made a presentation about the work of the IACHR related to monitoring places of deprivation of liberty, and the work of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, during the Panel “Vulnerable groups: historical and social perspectives.” The public of 500 participants included police officers and prison guards from the state of Minas Gerais. The objective of the seminar was to discuss the implementation of a state mechanism for the prevention of torture, according to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which was ratified by Brazil on January 12, 2007.
Human Rights Brief Interview with Commissioner Rodrigo Escobar Gil
On its Spring 2011 edition (Volume 18, Issue 3), Human Rights Brief of American University's Washington College of Law published an interview with Commissioner Rodrigo Escobar Gil, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty. The interview was published in English and Spanish, and it is available in this PDF document, which we reprinted with the magazine's authorization.
Forum on the Penitentiary Administration System of Panama
On April 25, 2011, specialist Andrés Pizarro, of the Office of the Rapporteur, participated as remote panelist (through conference call) in the Forum of Citizen Consultation on the Penitentiary Administration System of Panama. This activity was organized by Panama's Ombudsman.
Meeting with UN Mechanisms against Torture
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In light of the grave detention conditions and numerous cases of torture reported in the Americas, representatives of the United Nations anti-torture mechanisms and the IACHR Office of the Rapporteur on the Right of Persons Deprived of Liberty have decided to strengthen their relations and more closely coordinate activities. They held their first meeting toward that end at the headquarters of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on March 16, 2011. Participants in the meeting discussed the direct correlation between, on the one hand, the trend toward repressive political policies on citizen security and, on the other, the increase in overcrowding in correctional facilities, the rise in the number of torture cases and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and punishment, and the decline of detention conditions.
Those participating in the meeting included the IACHR Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, Rodrigo Escobar Gil; the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Juan Méndez; the Chairperson of the UN Committee against Torture, Claudio Grossman; Vice-Chairperson of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, Mario Coriolano; the Executive Secretary of the IACHR, Santiago A. Canton; the head of the Americas Section of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, María Clara Martin; and other specialists from the inter-American and universal human rights systems.
2010
Analysis of the Prison Situation, Criminal Policy, and Judicial Responses in Latin America
Rapporteur Rodrigo Escobar Gil gave a talk entitled “An Overview of the Prison Situation in Latin America,” as a participant in a panel entitled “Analysis of the Prison Situation, Criminal Policy, and Judicial Responses in Latin America.” The event took place in Bogotá, Colombia, in November 2010.
VI Constitutional Jurisdiction Meeting: Talks with the Nation
At the VI Constitutional Jurisdiction Meeting: Talks with the Nation—held at the Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Convention Center, in Bogotá, Colombia—Rapporteur Rodrigo Escobar Gil gave a talk entitled “The Perspective of the Bodies of the Human Rights System regarding Constitutional Jurisprudence on Human Rights.” The event took place in October 2010.
II Human Rights Congress of the University of Chile
Rapporteur Rodrigo Escobar Gil participated in the University of Chile's II Human Rights Congress, where he gave a speech on non-imprisonment measures. The event took place in Santiago, Chile, in August 2010.
Seminar on National Mechanisms to Prevent Torture
The Office of the Rapporteur’s attorney specialist was a panelist at the Seminar on National Mechanisms to Prevent Torture, organized by the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The event took place in Montevideo, Uruguay, in July 2010.
International Symposium on Prison Law and Human Rights
Rapporteur Rodrigo Escobar Gil and the Office of the Rapporteur’s attorney specialist were speakers at the International Symposium on Prison Law and Human Rights, organized by Colombia’s National Prison Institute (INPEC). The event took place in Medellín, Colombia, in July 2010.
Memories of the III International Symposium (available in Spanish in PDF)
Seminar on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty and the Inter-American Human Rights System
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The Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, Rodrigo Escobar Gil, and the Office of the Rapporteur’s attorney specialist, Andrés Pizarro, offered a seminar on June 8, 2010, in the Auditorium of the Supreme Court of Justice in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Those attending included representatives of the judiciary and the Provincial Office of the Ombudsman, as well as members of the general public.
2009
Presentation to OAS Political Bodies
On November 12, 2009, Commissioner Florentín Meléndez gave the OAS Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs a detailed report on his five-year term as Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty.
First Conference on Prison Issues: “Detainees in Preventive Custody”
The Rapporteur participated as a speaker at the First Conference on Prison Issues: “Detainees in Preventive Custody,” which took place in November 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was organized by the University of Buenos Aires. He gave a keynote address on “Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty.”
International Congress on the Inter-American System and Ombudsmen’s Offices
In February 2009, Rapporteur Florentín Meléndez was a speaker at an international congress held in Cartagena, Colombia, on the use of the inter-American system by Ombudsmen’s Offices in Latin America.
Central American Seminar on Protection against Torture
In January 2009, Rapporteur Florentín Meléndez participated in the Central American Seminar on Protection against Torture, held in Guatemala City.
2007
OPCAT Conference
The Office of the Rapporteur participated in a conference entitled “The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT): Preventive Mechanisms and Standards,” held in April 2007 at the School of Law of the University of Bristol, England. The Office of the Rapporteur’s attorney specialist gave a talk on the relationship between OPCAT and the regional mechanism of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
II Prison Seminar on Latin America and the Caribbean
The Rapporteur participated as a speaker at the II Prison Seminar on Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in June 2007 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
XXV Inter-Disciplinary Course on Human Rights
The Office of the Rapporteur participated in the XXV Inter-Disciplinary Course on Human Rights, organized by the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR). Rapporteur Florentín Meléndez gave a presentation on precautionary measures and special rapporteurships. The event took place in July 2007 in San José, Costa Rica.
2006
Second Specialized Course for State and Foreign Ministry Employees
Rapporteur Florentín Meléndez taught classes at the Second Specialized Course for State and Foreign Ministry Employees on how to use the inter-American system for the protection of human rights. Sponsored by the Inter-American Court, the IACHR, and the IIHR, the event took place from September 26 to October 3, 2006, in San José, Costa Rica.
Sixth Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General of the Americas
Rapporteur Florentín Meléndez participated in the Sixth Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-VI), held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on April 24, 2006. He gave a presentation on best practices and prison reform in the Americas.
2005
Workshop in the Dominican Republic on the Inter-American Human Rights System
On December 6, 2005, with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Office of the Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty held a Workshop on the Inter-American Human Rights System in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The event was geared toward civil society organizations.
Academic Symposiums on Prison in Colombia
The Rapporteur participated in the Academic Symposiums on Prison in Colombia, which were organized by the Office of the High Commissioner and the National University of Colombia, and took place November 9-11 in Bogota.
Seminar on “Building Restorative Justice in Latin America”
The Office of the Rapporteur participated in a seminar on “Building Restorative Justice in Latin America,” which took place in September 2005 in San José, Costa Rica. The event was sponsored by the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD) and the Prison Fellowship International.
Symposiums on Best Practices in Juvenile Criminal Justice, Argentina
The Office of the Rapporteur sponsored and participated in the “Symposiums on Best Practices in Juvenile Criminal Justice,” held in September 2005 in the city of Buenos Aires. The symposiums were organized in conjunction with the Human Rights Secretariat of Argentina’s Ministry of Justice.
Seminar in Brazil
The Office of the Rapporteur participated in a seminar organized by the Association for the Prevention of Torture, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), and the Teotônio Vilela Commission on “The Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture: Implementation in Brazil and other Federal and Decentralized States.” The event took place in São Paulo, Brazil, in June 2005.
Symposiums at U.S. Universities
In 2005, the Office of the Rapporteur offered symposiums for students and professors. In February, it made a presentation at Brown University and in March at Harvard University.
2004
Inter-American Course on Prevention of Torture
The Office of the Rapporteur participated in the Inter-American Course on Prevention of Torture, organized by the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and geared toward ombudsmen and human rights public prosecutors in Latin America. The event took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 2004.
