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CHAPTER I ORIGIN AND LEGAL BASES OF THE IACHR
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was created
under Resolution VI of the Fifth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of
Foreign Affairs (Santiago, Chile, 1959).
Part II of that resolution provided that the Commission was to be
composed of seven members selected, in a personal capacity, from slates
presented by the governments; the purpose of the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights would be to "promote respect for such
rights."
The then Council of the Organization approved the Statute of the
Commission on May 25, 1960. Under
the provisions of the Statute (Article 2) the Commission was established
as an autonomous entity of the Organization of American States.
Human rights were understood to be those spelled out in the
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (Bogota, 1948).
Pursuant to that Statute, on June 29, 1960 the Council elected
the members of the Commission. It
is important to note that the members of the Commission represent all
the member States of the OAS and act in its name.
The Commission's first session was held in Washington, D.C., from
October 3 through 28, 1960. Since
that first session, the Commission has held eighty-one (81)
sessions, some of them at its headquarters in the General Secretariat,
others in various member States of the Organization.
The Second Special Inter-American Conference (Rio de
Janeiro, 1965) amended the Commission's Statute.
The amendments were in the form of additions and changes intended
to make the Statute stronger and as effective as possible in assisting
the Commission perform its functions.
It was further recognized (Resolution XXII) that the IACHR had
"performed valuable service in carrying out its mandate."
The 1960 Statute was amended as follows: i) it authorized the
Commission to pay "particular attention" to the observance of
the human rights referred to in articles I, II, III, IV, XVIII, XXV, and
XXVI of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; ii)
it authorized the Commission to examine communications sent to it
and any other information available, to address
the government of any member state "for information deemed
pertinent, and to make recommendations to it, in order to bring about
more effective observance of fundamental human rights," and iii) it
requested the Commission to present an annual report to the then
Inter-American Conference or the Meeting of Consultation of
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, so that the progress accomplished and the
protection of human rights could be examined at the ministerial level.
When discharging its mandate, the IACHR should first ascertain
whether a member State's legal procedures and remedies have been
properly applied and exhausted.
Later, at the Third Special Inter-American Conference
(Buenos Aires, 1967), the Protocol of Amendment to the Charter of the
Organization of American States was signed.
That Protocol of Amendment added important provisions to the
Charter that concerned the Commission in particular and
On November 22, 1969, the Inter-American Specialized
Conference on Human Rights, convoked by the Council of the OAS (San
Jose, Costa Rica), approved the American Convention on Human Rights,
which entered into force on July 18, 1978, when Grenada deposited the
eleventh instrument of ratification.1/
At its ninth regular session (La Paz, Bolivia, 1979), the General
Assembly of the OAS approved the Commission's new Statute.
Articles 6 and 8 were later amended at the tenth regular session
of the General Assembly (Washington, D.C., 1980).
Article 1 of the Statute defines the IACHR as "an organ of
the Organization of American States, created to promote the observance
and defense of human rights and to serve as consultative organ of the
Organization in this matter."
Human rights were defined as the rights set forth in the American
Convention on Human Rights, for the States Parties thereto, and as the
rights set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of
Man, for the other member States. As
with the previous Statute, the membership of the Commission, defined in
Article 2, continued to be seven members, who represent all the member
States of the OAS. Under
Article 3, the members of the Commission are to be elected in a personal
capacity by the General Assembly. Under
Article 6, they are elected to a term of four (4) years and may be
reelected only once.
The Commission's functions and powers with respect to all the
member States are spelled out in Article 18 of the Statute; those it has
with respect to the States Parties to the American Convention are
enumerated in Article
19. Its powers in relation
to member States that are not yet parties to the Convention are set
forth in Article 20.2/ RELATIONS BETWEEN
THE IACHR AND THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
During the period to which this report refers the Commission
continued to maintain close cooperative relations with the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as described in Chapter II
of this report, particularly as regards hearings concerning the Court's
advisory and contentious jurisdiction in matters submitted to it by the
Commission. RELATIONS WITH
SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATIONS OF THE OAS
Between 1991 and 1992 the Commission has kept up its cooperative
relations with the Specialized Organizations of the OAS in matters
having to do with human rights. These
organizations include the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM);
the Inter-American Children's Institute; and the
Inter-American Indian Institute.
As part of this cooperation, there has been an exchange of
publications and working papers that, because of their nature, may be of
mutual interest. RELATIONS WITH
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
The Commission also continued to cooperate with the United
Nations agencies charged with protecting and promoting human rights,
such as the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Committee
provided for in the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations and, in particular,
with the Commission's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances, in order to shed light on certain cases of the kind
reported to the Commission.
It would also be worthwhile mentioning the close cooperative
relations that the Commission has kept up with the Inter-American
Institute of Human Rights. [ Table of Contents | Previous | Next ]
1. The States
Parties are as follows: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada,
Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Of these, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Peru, Uruguay,
and Venezuela have recognized the competence of the Commission to
receive interstate communications in accordance with Article 45 of the
American Convention. Argentina,
Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela have
recognized the mandatory jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights under Article 62 of the Convention.
OEA/Ser.A/16, No. 36, Treaty Series.
2. For additional
information, see "Basic Documents Pertaining to Human Rights in the
Inter-American System" (OEA/Ser.L/V/II.,71, doc. 6 rev.1,
September 23, 1987) updated to March 1, 1988.
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