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THE OAS CONMEMORATES THE ANNIVERSARIES OF THE MAIN ENTITIES OF THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The Organization of American States (OAS) will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the thirtieth anniversary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights this Wednesday, November 11th , with two events that will highlight the importance of these bodies of the inter-American system.

As part of the commemorative event, members of the OAS Permanent Council will meet to consider, among other topics, the adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the Legal Assistance Fund of the Inter-American Human Rights System. The special meeting’s agenda will include presentations from the OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza; the President of the Permanent Council and Representative of Colombia, Ambassador Luis Alfonso Hoyos Aristizabal; the President of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, Dr. Luz Patricia Mejia Guerrero; the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Judge Cecilia Medina Quiroga, and Mr. Juan Pablo Olmedo, as an example of the people who have claimed their case before the inter-American system of Human Rights.

In the context of the celebration, the XIX OAS Policy Roundtable: “Challenges and Future of the Inter-American System on Human Rights” will take place during the afternoon of that same day. This session will feature the Special Advisor on Prevention to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and former President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Juan E. Mendez; the Director of the Indian Law Resource Center, Armstrong A. Wiggins; the Founder and President of the Myrna Mack Foundation Guatemala, Helen Mack, and the Director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights from Notre Dame Law School, Douglass Cassel.

The commemorative session of the Permanent Council and the XIX Roundtable will be available live via the website of the OAS: www.oas.org

WHAT: Special Session of the Permanent Council commemorating the fifty years of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the thirty years of the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.

TIME: 10:00 a.m. (GMT)

WHEN: Wednesday, November 11, 2009.

WHERE: Liberator Simón Bolívar Room
Organization of American States
17th Street and Constitution Ave., NW
Washington D.C. 20006

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WHAT: XIX OAS Policy Roundtable: “Challenges and Future of the Inter-American System on Human Rights”.

TIME: 3:30 p.m. (GMT)

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WHEN: Wednesday, November 11, 2009.

WHERE: Hall of the Americas
Organization of American States
17th Street and Constitution Ave., NW
Washington D.C. 20006

Reference: E-AVISO/09