AG/RES. 2125 (XXXV-O/05)

STUDY OF THE RIGHTS AND THE CARE OF PERSONS UNDER ANY FORM OF DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005) 

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 

HAVING SEEN the chapter on this topic in the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05 add. 3), as well as its resolutions AG/RES. 1897 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1927 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2037 (XXXIV-O/04); 

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT: 

That in the inter-American system the OAS member states undertake to respect and protect the human rights of persons who have been deprived of freedom, including all applicable rights established in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and those established in all other human rights instruments to which they are parties; 

That consultations with the member states on this subject have continued within the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs and that a number of them have replied to the questionnaire prepared for that purpose (CP/CAJP-1853/01 rev. 1); 

The conclusions and recommendations of the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-IV), which include a proposal on the preparation of a document to protect the fundamental rights of detained persons (REMJA-IV/doc.24/02 rev. 2); 

The conclusions and recommendations of the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-V), contained in its Final Report (REMJA-V/doc.9/04), and, in particular, the recommendation that the states promote “modernization of prison infrastructure and extend the functions of rehabilitation and social integration of the individual, by improving conditions of detention and studying new penitentiary standards”; and 

The recommendations of the First Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies of the OAS Member States (GAPECA/doc.04/03), held in Washington, D.C., on October 16 and 17, 2003; and 

WELCOMING the strengthening by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Freedom, through the appointment of a Special Rapporteur,

RESOLVES: 

1.                   To urge member states to comply, under all circumstances, with all applicable international obligations to respect the human rights of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment, including the rights established in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and those established in all other human rights instruments to which they are party. 

2.                   To instruct the Permanent Council to continue studying the question of the rights and the care of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment, in cooperation with the competent organs and entities of the inter-American system and taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas, contained in the Final Report of that meeting (REMJA-V/doc.9/04), including the report of the First Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies of the OAS Member States (GAPECA/doc.04/03). 

3.                   To urge those member states that have not already done so to reply as soon as possible to the questionnaire entitled “Study of the Rights and the Care of Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment” (CP/CAJP-1853/01 rev. 1). 

4.                   To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to report on the situation of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment in the Hemisphere and to compile, using as a basis its work on the subject, the regional and global parameters for detention and imprisonment policies in the member states, making reference to any problems and good practices observed. 

            5.         To congratulate and acknowledge those member states that have invited the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Freedom of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to visit their countries, including their detention centers; and to encourage all member states to facilitate such visits. 

            6.         To call upon member states to consider allocating more funds to the IACHR to enable it to support the effective fulfillment of the mandate assigned to its Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Freedom. 

            7.         To reiterate to the Permanent Council that, on the basis of the results of the discussions and studies conducted, including the inputs of the IACHR, it should consider the possibility of drafting an inter-American declaration on the rights and the care of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment, with a view to strengthening existing international standards on the matter.  To that end, the topic should be considered in the context of the Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies that is to be held under a mandate of REMJA-V, and national human rights experts should participate in that meeting. 

            8.         To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.