IACHR Announces New Allocation of Thematic and Country Rapporteurships

January 12, 2024

Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has announced the reassignment of the offices of its thematic and country rapporteurships to the seven IACHR commissioners. The rapporteurships were assigned during the IACHR's first internal session in 2024, in accordance with Article 15 of the Rules of Procedure.

The rapporteurships were allocated as follows:

Commissioner Roberta Clarke

• Countries: Brazil, Guyana, Haiti, and United States
• Topics: Women's Rights and LGBTI Rights

Commissioner Stuardo Ralón

• Countries: Argentina, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, and Suriname
• Topics: Rights of persons deprived of liberty

Commissioner Carlos Bernal

• Countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago
• Topics: Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Commissioner José Luis Caballero

• Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia
• Topics: Rights of Human Rights Defenders and Justice Operators and Rights of Children

Commissioner Arif Bulkan

• Countries: Canada, Dominica, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Saint Vincent, and The Grenadines
• Topics: Indigenous Peoples' Rights

Commissioner Andrea Pochak

• Countries: Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, The Bahamas, and Uruguay
• Themes: Migrants' Rights and Memory, Truth and Justice

Commissioner Gloria Monique de Mees

• Countries: Barbados, Grenada, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Venezuela
• Topics: Rights of the Elderly and Rights of People of African Descent

The IACHR began creating thematic and special rapporteurships in 1994 to focus on specific rights and populations, communities, and peoples that have historically experienced exclusion. It currently has 11 thematic rapporteurships covering 35 countries, which are distributed among the commissioners.

The purpose of the rapporteurships is to strengthen and promote the IACHR's work on issues that affect these populations and to coordinate measures for the prevention and protection of their rights with the areas responsible for petitions and cases, precautionary measures, monitoring, and the follow-up of recommendations. The 2023–2027 Strategic Plan describes the roadmaps and priorities for these rapporteurships.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 011/24

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