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IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Holds Meeting with Hillary Clinton
January 27, 2012
Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commisson on Human Rights (IACHR) was received today by the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in Washington, D.C. The meeting was arranged with the assistance of the US Permanent Representative to the OAS, Carmen Lomellin, in order to celebrate the election of the three new female members of the Commission.
Secretary Clinton welcomed the new Commissioners and expressed her satisfaction for the fact that for the first time in history, there is a majority of women members in the IACHR. Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Rosa María Ortiz and Tracy Robinson were elected by the OAS General Assembly in June 2011 and started their terms on January 1, 2012. Dinah Shelton, the fourth woman member of the Commission, started her term on January 1, 2010, and is the current Chair.
In addition, Secretary Clinton expressed the support of the United States of America for the contributions of Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to the advancement of democracy and human rights in the Western Hemisphere.
Previously, in a meeting that the Commission had with the US Mission to the OAS, the Commissioners expressed the importance that the United States ratify the inter-American human rights treaties, especially the American Convention on Human Rights, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and eradicaton of Violence against Women, known as Convention of Belem do Para, and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.
“We are thankful for the steadfast support that the United States has showed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,” said the IACHR Chair, Dinah Shelton. “We hope that the United States will advance in its support to the inter-American human rights system through the ratification of inter-American human rights treaties.”
The meeting with Secretary Clinton was attended by the IACHR Chair, Dinah Shelton; the First Vice-Chair, José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez, Commissioners Felipe González, Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Rosa María Ortiz and Tracy Robinson, and Executive Secretary Santiago A. Canton.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 009/12