IACHR Announces Technical Cooperation and Promotional Visit to Saint Lucia

June 27, 2023

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announces a technical cooperation and promotional visit to Saint Lucia. The visit will take place from June 27 to June 30, 2023, with the objective of strengthening the Commission's relations with the country, promoting technical cooperation mechanisms, and providing institutional strengthening on human rights standards to state and non-state actors.

The IACHR highlights the collaboration and willingness of the State of Saint Lucia to host this visit.

The delegation will be led by Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, President of the IACHR and Country Rapporteur for Saint Lucia. The Commissioner is also the Rapporteur for People of African Descent and for the Rights of Older Persons. She will be accompanied by a team of specialists from the Executive Secretariat representing various technical areas.

The IACHR will hold meetings with authorities and representatives of the State, as well as with non-state actors. The IACHR will promote technical cooperation on prioritized human rights issues. Also on the agenda, is a set of training workshops on the Inter-American Human Rights System, its mechanisms, and their strategic use. The workshops are meant for representatives of state institutions, civil society organizations, and other relevant actors.

The visit will be conducted within the framework of the actions that the IACHR highlighted as priorities when approving its Strategic Plan 2023-2027, particularly with respect to Program 17 on Prioritized Attention to the Caribbean. As such, the strategy is directed at: providing technical cooperation on institutional matters and public policies with a focus on human rights; deepening awareness of state agents regarding structural problems that give rise to violations; increasing the capacity of State and non-state actors to promote and respect human rights; and strengthening its work with national human rights institutions and civil society organizations (CSOs).

This is the Commission's first technical cooperation visit to the country. A promotional visit was made in 2012 to launch the thematic report on the rights of Afro descendants.

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 respective countries of origin or residence.

No. 137/23

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