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Insulza calls on OAS member states to respect Human Rights Commission recommendations

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, called on the member states to comply with the recommendations made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the decisions handed down by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

He made the remarks at today’s opening of the Commission’s 127th period of sessions at OAS headquarters in Washington. Other speakers included Commission President Florentín Meléndez and the Chair of the OAS Permanent Council, Uruguayan Ambassador María del Luján Flores.

Insulza recognized that the member states have made significant strides in universalizing the region’s human rights instruments and in carrying out Commission recommendations and Court decisions. But, he added, “we have to continue working to build a system in which all citizens of the hemisphere have the right to the same level of protection—a system in which all victims who appear before it, and obtain the recognition and protection of their rights, will receive reparations in line with the terms and manner determined by its bodies.”

The Secretary General underscored the importance of Commission reports, which he said were the result of “profound discussions” about the situation in the countries. “It is crucial that the important advances registered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights be accompanied by the decided support of the states for the inter-American system of human rights protection,” he said. This support, he said, has to do fundamentally with the recognition of the system as a contributor and ally of the states in the defense of human dignity and the consolidation of the rule of law, more than as an obstacle or an adversary in attaining common goals that unite the region.

In opening the Commission’s work sessions, which will continue through March 9, Insulza noted that in accordance with the mandates from the Summits of the Americas and the OAS General Assembly, he has included human rights as one of the four central areas of focus for the General Secretariat’s efforts during his administration.

In this regard, Insulza praised the support of the member states as well as important contributions made by observer countries. The Spain Fund, in particular, is providing critical support to the inter-American human rights system, Insulza said, adding that this joint venture with the Spanish government had produced a new type of international cooperation.

In discussing the Inter-American Commission’s various contributions to the region, Insulza stressed that the process of modifying public policies had been strengthened, with a focus on human rights at the executive, judicial and legislative levels. He noted, among other developments, the freeing of persons that had been arbitrarily denied their liberty and the repeal or modification of laws limiting fundamental rights, such as those related to contempt charges, abusive labor conditions and limits on the rights of married women, as well as amnesty laws that violate the American Convention on Human Rights. Insulza also stressed progress made on key constitutional reforms.

Another positive step, he said, has been the Commission’s creation, in recent years, of special rapporteurships and units to address particular issues such as the rights of women, indigenous peoples, migrant workers and their families, children and human rights defenders. Such specialized areas, he said, have made important contributions to the development of a progressive jurisprudence that recognizes the rights of groups that have traditionally been marginalized and vulnerable.

Commission President Florentín Meléndez of El Salvador, who was elected to a one-year term, said that during this period of sessions the human rights body will begin preparatory work on a study on citizen security. The Commission hopes to contribute in this way to the hemispheric debate on this issue that is taking place in the framework of the OAS, he said.

Meléndez stressed that faults and deficiencies in the respect for human rights in the hemisphere carry particularly negative consequences for those who make up the most vulnerable groups of society. “The fact that economic, social and cultural rights are lacking aggravates this worrisome picture in which high levels of malnutrition persist, as well as limited and insufficient access to health and education, and inadequate quality of life,” he said.

For her part, Ambassador María del Lugán Flores said that thanks to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it has been possible to assess states’ conduct in relation to legal norms governing human dignity. “This has helped to document violations, to support those who have seen their rights damaged,” she said, adding that one factor that has contributed to this positive trend has been the region’s democratic recovery.

Reference: E-059/07