RESOLUTION Nº 04/06

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights resolves that the appointment of special Rapporteurs or independent experts shall be guided by the following procedural norms:

1.       Once it becomes aware that a position of Special Rapporteur will become vacant, the IACHR shall issue a public notice of vacancy and shall widely disseminate this notice to ensure the nomination of the largest possible number of candidates for that position. For this purpose, the notice of vacancy shall be published on the web pages of the Commission and the Rapporteurships, and shall be transmitted electronically to all OAS missions and to the leading human rights organizations according to the Commission’s database, for distribution among their networks of contacts.

2.       The notice of vacancy shall advise candidates that, should they be pre-selected, their names and backgrounds will be published on the Commission’s webpage for the information of Member States and civil society.  In addition, the notice shall include the specifics of the procedure and the criteria that will guide the selection processes. Lastly, the notice of vacancy shall specify the deadline for submitting nominations and the time period in which the selection process will be concluded. The period for which the Commission shall keep open the notice of vacancy shall be no less than two months.

3.       The IACHR shall inform Member States and Civil Society Organizations that, as long as the notice of vacancy remains open, they may submit their observations concerning the selection criteria that the IACHR should apply based on the minimum requirements established in the notice.

4.       Once the time period for the notice of vacancy has expired, the IACHR shall select the candidates who will be finalists. These candidates must meet each and every one of the minimum requirements set forth in the notice of vacancy. The IACHR shall take into account, as it deems pertinent, the criteria that Member States and civil society organizations have considered most relevant to fulfilling the duties associated with the position. Likewise, the IACHR shall take into account criteria to ensure that the finalists equitably represent both men and women, and reflect racial diversity and broad geographic distribution across the continent.

5.       The curricula vitae of the finalists shall be published on the IACHR’s webpage so that Member States and civil society in general are adequately informed of the background and credentials of the pre-selected candidates. These curricula vitae shall remain posted on the webpage for a reasonable period of time to allow duly founded observations about the candidates to be submitted to the Commission.  All personal information that is not relevant to the election of the candidate shall be removed from the curricula vitae, including address, telephone number, and family information.

6.       Once the time period for observations from civil society is over, the Commission shall call in the finalists for interviews.

7.       Once the interview process has been concluded, the Commission shall proceed with its election in accordance with the relevant norms and Rules of Procedures of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. The election shall require the favorable vote of an absolute majority of the members of the Commission.  Should it become necessary to hold more than one vote for the election, the names of candidates receiving the fewest votes shall be successively removed. The election shall be secret; however, by unanimous agreement of the members present, the Commission may decide on a different procedure.

8.       From the publication of the notice of vacancy until such time as the candidate has been elected definitively, contact between the candidates and the members of the Inter-American Commission shall be avoided to the maximum extent possible.

9.       Once the candidate has been elected, if he or she accepts the appointment, the IACHR shall publicize the election, underscoring the criteria used in the election and the credentials of the elected candidate.

Washington, D.C., October 26, 2006