IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Releases Schedule of Activities for 2020
January 13, 2020
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released the dates and locations of its periods of sessions and the in loco visits to Chile, Bolivia, and Venezuela that it is set to hold in 2020.
As previously agreed, the 175th Regular Period of Sessions is to take place on March 1–8, 2020 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following an invitation from the Haitian government. The Commission has received requests for hearings and working meetings concerning all Members States of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The 176th Regular Period of Sessions is scheduled for May 20–29 at a location that is yet to be determined and announced. The platform to request hearings and working meetings for the 176th Period of Sessions will be open from February 20 through March 11.
The 177th Regular Period of Sessions is set to be held September 27–October 6 at a location that is yet to be determined and announced. The platform to request hearings and working meetings for the 177th Period of Sessions will be open from June 11 through July 8.
The 178th Regular Period of Sessions is set to take place December 2–12 at a location that is yet to be determined and announced. The platform to request hearings and working meetings for the 178th Period of Sessions will be open from September 3–23.
At least one of these periods of sessions will be held at the IACHR headquarters in Washington, D.C. The IACHR thanks the State of Haiti for its invitation to hold a period of sessions on its territory, which helps to publicize the Inter-American Human Rights System, to democratize access to that system, and to expand the IACHR’s public presence around the Americas.
“By releasing this schedule, we hope to notify the inter-American community of IACHR platforms and agendas, to enable them to get involved in our activities,” said IACHR President Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño. “We thank the States who have hosted periods of sessions for their commitment to the IACHR. This support allows us to keep building high inter-American human rights standards, to achieve fairer, more effective international justice, and to ensure constant dialogue to achieve full respect for human rights,” said Commissioner Arosemena de Troitiño.
The IACHR is set to conduct three in loco visits this year. The first visit, to Chile, is scheduled for January 25–February 1. The Commission will then visit Venezuela from February 3–7 and Bolivia from August 2–8. These on-site visits are crucial for IACHR efforts to defend, promote, and protect human rights. They are one of the tools the Commission uses to monitor the situation of human rights in specific countries. Based on the reports it receives in each in loco visit and through its remaining monitoring mechanisms, the IACHR drafts country reports with an analysis of the general situation of human rights in the country—often emphasizing certain issues that cause special concern in that country—along with the Commission’s conclusions and recommendations for the State.
The IACHR has also decided that its Board of Officers will attend the General Assembly of the OAS in The Bahamas in 2020, to actively promote debate and to raise awareness about the protection of human rights, as a crucial foundation for democracy and the rule of law around the region.
To keep coordinating the work of the Inter-American Human Rights System, the IACHR and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are set to hold their Fourth Forum during the second half of 2020, at a location that is yet to be determined.
The Commission expects to hold talks with States and civil society throughout its 2020 agenda. “The IACHR wishes to strengthen its agenda for constructive dialogue with States and civil society in the region, with a view to turning the defense of individuals’ human rights and safeguards for those rights into an effective reality,” said IACHR Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão.
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 and to defend 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. 007/20