More Human Rights Reforms Under Discussion

Readers interested in reform within the international human rights system, including the reform of the UN human rights treaty monitoring system previously discussed here, may be interested in yesterday’s announcement by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), adding a regional dimension to discussions.

The IACHR serves as the focal point for human rights within what is touted as “the world’s oldest regional organization” – the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS is a pan-American regional organization akin to the Council of Europe, supported by 35 states in the Western Hemisphere, and headquartered in Washington DC. The IACHR was created in 1959, and formally established in 1960, with a mandate to promote and protect human rights throughout the region. It is one of two organs of the inter-American human rights regime, the other being the Inter-American Court of Human Rights based in San José, Costa Rica. With functions similar to the UN treaty-monitoring bodies, and the old European Commission on Human Rights, the IACHR monitors the situation of human rights in the various OAS states, conducts on-site visits, handles individual complaints, and hosts several thematic rapporteurs. The Commission also brings cases to the Court, as was done in the old European human rights system prior to Protocol 11.

But all is not rosy at the IACHR, with a current docket of 8500 individual complaints currently pending before the seven-member part-time body. Financial resources have not kept up with the volume of complaints, and each commissioner also serves as a thematic rapporteur, with consequent duties and workload. Events within the Americas also add to the workload. In 2002, for example, the IACHR received 3783 complaints as a result of the banking measures adopted in Argentina, and further petitions were received in 2009 following the coup d’état in Honduras.

The IACHR has agreed to embark on an in-depth examination of its procedures and mechanisms. To this end it has, as of 3 August 2012, published its methodology document for what it calls its “2012 process of reform of its Rules of Procedure and of its institutional policies and practices” (with the Rules of Procedure last undergoing significant reform back in 2009). It is expected that consultation documents regarding the individual complaint procedure, precautionary measures, the monitoring function, and the promotion function, will be published on or before 25 August 2012, to be followed by a one-month period for comments from all users of the inter-American system. By the end of September, we should see an IACHR report to the OAS Permanent Council on possible reforms to the Rules, policies and practices of the IACHR, and in October, the IACHR promises to convene two hearings on strengthening measures to give key actors an opportunity for dialogue.

The webpage for the “Process for Strengthening the IACHR” can be found here.