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IACHR ANNOUNCES CALENDAR OF PUBLIC HEARINGS OF THE 131th PERIOD OF SESSIONS
February 27, 2008Washington, D.C., February 27, 2008 – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announces the calendar of public hearings of its 131th period of sessions, that will take place March 3-14, 2008. The hearings will be held on March 7, 10 and 12, in the TL level of the General Secretariat Building of the OAS, 1889 F St. NW, Washington, DC, 20006. The audio recordings of all public hearings will be available in the Commission’s website and those held in Room A will be webcast live through the OAS website. In the case of the private hearings, there is neither webcast nor video or audio recording available, and the entrance of public and press is not allowed.
| Friday, March 7, 2008 – Room A The public hearings held in this room will be webcast live through the OAS website, www.oas.org. Those videos can also be watched afterwards in the OAS and in the IACHR websites. The audio recordings will be available in the IACHR’s website, www.iachr.org. | ||
| Time (Washington, D.C.) | Topic of the hearing | Participants |
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Petition 478/05 – Victims of anti-immigrant activities and violence in southern Arizona, United States | Seanna Howard / Robert Hershey, University of Arizona College of Law Government of the United States |
| 10:15 – 11:15 | Case 12.644 – José Medellín Rojas (MC 317/06), Rubén Ramírez Cárdenas (MC 328/06) and Humberto Leal García (MC 349/06) | Sandra Babcock / Center for International Human Rights Government of the United States |
| 11:30 – 12:15 | Prevention of torture in Latin America | Asociación para la Prevención de la Tortura (APT) |
| 3:00 – 4:00 | General human rights situation in Venezuela | Government of Venezuela |
| 4:15 – 5:15 | Private Hearing Situation of democratic institutions and human rights guarantees in Venezuela | COFAVIC / Espacio Público / Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones / Acción Solidaria / Vicaría de DDHH de Caracas / CEJIL |
| 5:30 – 6:15 | Human Rights violations in prisons in Panama | Comisión de Justicia y Paz de la Conferencia Episcopal de Panamá / Centro de Iniciativas Democráticas / Universidad de Harvard Government of Panama |
| Friday, March 7, 2008 – Room B There will not be webcast of these hearings. The audio recordings will be available in the IACHR’s webpage, www.iachr.org. | ||
| Time (Washington, D.C.) | Topic of the hearing | Participants |
| 9:00 – 9:45 | Situation of Discrimination of Afro-descendents in Labor, Education and Access to Justice in the Americas | Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos |
| 10:00 – 10:45 | Women’s access to justice administration systems in the Americas | Articulación Regional Feminista de Derechos Humanos y Justicia de Género: Coordinadora Política de la Mujer de Bolivia / DEMUS / ELA / Corporación Humanas |
| 11:00 – 11:45 | Situation of child trafficking and violence against women in Haiti (border zone) | Regroupement des Citoyens pour la Protection des Droits Humains (RECIPRODH) Government of Haiti |
| 3:00 – 4:00 | Case 12.459 – Lysias Fleury, Haití | Lysias Fleury / International Human Rights Law Clinic, American University Government of Haiti |
| 4:15 – 5:00 | Use of lethal force by the police in Jamaica | International Human Rights Law Clinic, George Washington University / Jamaicans for Justice Government of Jamaica |
| 5:15 – 6:00 | Situation of prisons in the Americas | Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) |
| Monday, March 10, 2008 – Room A The public hearings held in this room will be webcast live through the OAS website, www.oas.org. The videos can also be watched afterwards in the OAS and in the IACHR websites. The audio recordings will be available in the IACHR’s website, www.iachr.org. | ||
| Time (Washington, D.C.) | Topic of the hearing | Participants |
| 9:00 - 10:00 | Obstacles in Argentina to compliance with the reports, decisions and recommendations of the bodies for the protection of human rights in the Inter-American system | Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) Government of Argentina |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Situation of human rights defenders of the Mapuche People in Chile | Nancy Yáñez / José Aylwin / Observatorio de Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas Government of Chile |
| 11:15 – 12:15 | Petition 1345/05 – Professors of Chañaral, Chile | Juan Pablo Olmedo Bustos Government of Chile |
| 3:00 – 4:15 | Investigation, trial and punishment of those responsible for serious violations of human rights in the past and the present in Guatemala | CALDH / Unidad de Protección de Defensores y Defensoras de Derechos Humanos Government of Guatemala |
| 4:30 – 5:15 | Protected areas in indigenous territories in Guatemala | Defensoría Maya Qeqchi / Indian Law Resource Center Government of Guatemala |
| 5:30 – 6:15 | Human rights consequences of the grave environmental violations caused by mining activity in Honduras | Alianza Cívica para la Democracia Government of Honduras |
| Monday, March 10, 2008 – Room B There will not be webcast of these hearings. The audio recordings of the public hearings held in this room will be available in the IACHR’s webpage, www.iachr.org. | ||
| Time (Washington, D.C.) | Topic of the hearing | Participants |
| 9:00 – 9:45 | Indirect restrictions of freedom of expression in Brazil | CEJIL / Article XIX Government of Brazil |
| 10:15 – 11:15 | Human rights situation of captive communities in Bolivia | CEJIL / Alejandro Chávez Ríos, Consejo de Capitanes de Chuquisaca Government of Bolivia |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Private Hearing Application of the 2004 Migration Law in the Dominican Republic | Open Society Justice Initiative / Global Rights / University of California, Berkeley International Human Rights Law Clinic / CEJIL |
| 3:00 – 4:00 | Case 12.542 – Employees of “Fertilizantes de Centroamérica” (FERTICA, Central American Fertilizers), Costa Rica | Daniel Camacho / FUNDEHUCA Government of Costa Rica |
| 4:15 – 5:15 | Case 12.405 – Vicente Grijalva Bueno, Ecuador | Francisco López Bermúdez / Auditoría Democrática Andina Government of Ecuador |
| 5:30 - 6:30 | Cases 12.597 – Miguel Camba Campos and others (Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal) and 12.600 – Hugo Quintana Coello and others (Judges of the Supreme Court), Ecuador | Ramiro Ávila Santamaría Government of Ecuador |
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 – Room A These hearings will be webcast live through the OAS website, www.oas.org. The videos can also be watched afterwards in the OAS and in the IACHR websites. The audio recordings will be available in the IACHR’s website, www.iachr.org. | ||
| Time (Washington, D.C.) | Topic of the hearing | Participants |
| 9:00 – 9:45 | Media consolidation and freedom of expression in Mexico | Asociación Mexicana de Derecho a la Información / Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de Derechos Humanos Government of Mexico |
| 10:00 – 10:45 | Human rights of migrant workers in transit in Mexico | Federación Internacional de Derechos Humanos / Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos Government of Mexico |
| 11:00 – 11:45 | Human rights situation of women in Chiapas, Mexico | Colectivo Feminista / CEJIL Government of Mexico |
| 3:00 – 3:45 | The Organic Law for Military and Police Justice in Peru | Instituto de Defensa Legal Government of Peru |
| 4:00 – 4:45 | Follow-up on recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru | Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos / APRODEH Government of Peru |
| 5:00 – 5:45 | Right to education of members of Afro-Descendent and Indigenous communities in the Americas | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights / University of Virginia Law School / Cornell University Law School |
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 – Room B There will not be webcast of these hearings. The audio recordings will be available in the IACHR’s webpage, www.iachr.org. | ||
| Time (Washington, D.C.) | Topic of the hearing | Participants |
| 9:00 – 10:30 | Cases “Comuna 13”, 12.596 – Luz Dary Ospina Bastidas, 12.595 – Myriam Eugenia Rúa Figueroa and 12.621 – Teresa Yarce, Mery Naranjo and Socorro Mosquera | Grupo Interdisciplinario por los Derechos Humanos / Comisión Colombiana de Juristas Government of Colombia |
| 10:45 – 11:45 | General situation of human rights in Colombia | Comisión Colombiana de Juristas / GIDH / REINICIAR Government of Colombia |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Human rights situation of displaced Afro-Colombians | Afrocolombianos Desplazados / Global Rights Government of Colombia |
| 3:00 – 3:45 | Murder of Women in El Salvador | ORMUSA / Las Dignas / Las Mélidas / CEJIL Government of El Salvador |
| 4:00 – 4:45 | Administration of justice in El Salvador | OTLA / CODEFAM / CPDH / COMAFAC / FESPAD / CDH-ES / Probúsqueda / DDH-SL / CO-MADRES / Comisión de Trabajo en Derechos Humanos Pro Memoria Histórica / CEJIL Government of El Salvador |
| 5:00 – 5:45 | Administration of justice in Nicaragua | CENIDH Government of Nicaragua |
Audio: The audio recordings of all public hearings will be uploaded to the IACHR webpage,www.iachr.org, on the same day that the hearing takes place. Radio stations are authorized to broadcast them, provided that credits are properly recognized.
Videos: All hearings taking place in Room A will be webcast live in the OAS webpage,www.oas.org. These videos will be available to be watched later on the “Videos On Demand” webpage of the OAS and in the Commission’s webpage. Communication media and organizations that would like to broadcast the hearings are authorized to do so, provided that credits are properly recognized. The highest quality signal available through this system is 65 kbps.
Links: The inclusion of links in external websites to the videos of the hearings is authorized. To include a link in your Webpage, please contact Carlos Koo, phone (202) 458 6074, e-mail[email protected].
Languages: Please note that participants in the hearings may speak in any of the four official languages of the OAS: Spanish, French, English and Portuguese. The videos and audio recordings are made through the channel of original voices and may include different languages in the same hearing.
Photographs: The OAS uploads high resolution pictures of the hearings to its Webpage (www.oas.org). The media is authorized to publish them, provided that credits are included.
Private hearings: The program of public hearings is made available to journalists for organization purposes only. Please note that the petitioners and the State have the right to ask that the hearing is made private, and they can request this at any time, including minutes before the hearing’s start.
Press: Media representatives do not need to present any specific credentials to cover the public hearings. Journalists may be present in all public hearings. The use of audio recorders and portable computers is allowed, with the condition that they do not interfere with the normal development of the hearing. Cellular phones must be turned off before entering the room.
Cameras: The taking of photographs (stills and filming for TV) is permitted only during the first five to ten minutes of the hearing. Photographers and cameramen must leave when asked to do so. After the hearing has started, photographers and cameramen will not be allowed to enter the room. TV crews wishing to cover the hearings at greater length or transmit them live may do so taking direct feeds of sound and images from the OAS’ system if that hearing is webcast.
Feeds: The audio connections are XLR and the video connections are BNC. Media representatives who would like to tape the hearings through this system should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time of the hearing, so all the equipment is ready at the starting time.
Copies of videos: High resolution copies of the videos of public hearings that have been webcast can be required by the public. This service is free for TV channels. The copies can be delivered in Beta SP, in DVCPro or in DVD, according to the election of the party requiring it. They can be picked up at the OAS headquarters on the same day that the hearing took place. Copies can also be sent by mail to media headquartered outside Washington, DC. To coordinate this service please contact Luis Batlle, phone (202) 458-3336, e-mail[email protected].
Special service for TV stations: The TV stations headquarted outside Washington, DC, that wish to obtain video footage on the same day that the hearing took place may request the OAS to send them an unedited selection of three minutes of footage through the Internet. This is done through the OAS’ FTP server. For more information on this service please contact Patricia Davide, phone (202) 458-6861, e-mail[email protected].
Press contact: Any questions and interview requests should be directed to Maria-Isabel Rivero, IACHR’s Press and Outreach Office director, phone (202) 458-3867, e-mail[email protected].
Reference: IACHR- 04