IACHR

Press Release

IACHR Receives Requests for Hearings for Extraordinary Period of Sessions

October 25, 2016

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Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hold an Extraordinary Period of Sessions in the United States on December 9 and 10, 2016. The IACHR thanks the United States for the additional special contribution it made in order to make it possible for the Commission to hold activities that have been postponed or temporarily suspended as a result of the financial crisis of the institution. These new funds have allowed the Commission to organize the 160 Period of Sessions at the IACHR headquarters in Washington, D.C., consisting of a day of hearings on December 9 and a day of sessions on December 10.

The IACHR calls on interested users to present requests for hearings. The requests must be for holding hearings on the United States or Canada, either thematic in nature or on cases that are at the merits stage. No working meetings on precautionary measures, nor petitions or cases, will be held during this 160 Period of Sessions.

All requests must be presented through the system available on the IACHR Website. This system will open on Wednesday, October 26. Requests must be submitted by 5:00 pm EST on Monday, October 31.

"The financial contributions that we have been receiving as a response to the crisis have allowed us to reschedule the activities that we had had to suspend. With the offer of Panama to host and finance the 159TH Ordinary Period of Sessions, and now this contribution of the United States that allow us to add two days of hearings and sessions at headquarters, we have been able to reschedule essential activities that are necessary for the compliance of our mandate," said Commissioner Francisco Eguiguren, IACHR Vice-President.

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 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. 157/16