THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was created in 1959 to work for all 35 OAS Member States. The Commission is composed of seven members, who are persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights, elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly from a list of candidates proposed by the Member States. Each Member State may propose up to three candidates, who may be nationals of the State proposing them or of any other OAS Member State. When a slate of three is proposed, at least one of the candidates shall be a national of a State other than the one proposing the slate. The members of the Commission are elected for a four-year term and may be re-elected only once. Here is an updated list of the composition of the Commission.


Commissioner Roberta Clarke, a national of Barbados, who was is serving her first term as Commissioner (2022-2025). An activist for social justice and gender equality, she has led UN Women Regional Offices in East and Southern Africa, Asia Pacific, the Caribbean and Libya. Prior to her career at the United Nations, she practiced as a lawyer in Trinidad and Tobago. She has been engaged in civil society and the national and international levels including as the Chair, Executive Committee, International Commission of Jurists and President of the Coalition against Domestic Violence, Trinidad and Tobago. She is the Chair, Harassment Committee of the Caribbean Court of Justice.