By filing a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, victims of human rights violations can obtain help. The Commission investigates the situation and can make recommendations to the State responsible to restore the enjoyment of rights whenever possible, to prevent a recurrence of similar events, to investigate the facts and to make reparations.
In this fact sheet you will find relevant information about the petitions under initial study.
Moreover, the purpose of the brochure presented below is to inform persons seeking to file a petition before the Commission of some of the basice concepts they should know beforehand. It also sets forth, in clear and simple language, which human rights are protected, how and when a petition may be filed, the requirements that must be met and, in general, the procedures that have to be followed.
This brochure is divided into four sections:
1. Human Rights in the Inter-American System
2. Guide for Submitting a Petition
3. Serious and Urgent Situations
4. Form for submitting a petition to the IACHR