IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Hails Progress Made During 2019 by States in the Americas to Implement the Recommendations Held in Published Merits Reports
April 30, 2020
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) hails progress made during 2019 by States in the Americas to comply with the recommendations held in published merits reports.
In its 2019 Annual Report, the IACHR noted that States had made progress to implement 23 recommendations during that year. Of these recommendations involving reparation measures, four attained full compliance, six showed substantial partial compliance, and 13 achieved partial compliance. Of the 23 measures where some degree of progress was made in 2019, 18 were structural and five were individual measures. The IACHR notes that there was greater State compliance with structural measures concerning the adoption and amendment of legislation and regulations.
The Commission is pleased that cases involving Gilberto Jiménez Hernández–“La Grandeza” (Case 11-564, Report 51/16, Mexico) and the Maya Community in the Toledo District (Case 12,053, Report 40/04, Belize) have advanced toward partial compliance. The IACHR also salutes moves made by Colombia and Jamaica that enabled progress toward full compliance with measures in cases involving Marta Lucía Álvarez Giraldo (Case 11,656, Report 122/18, Colombia); Leroy Lamey, Kevin Mykoo, Milton Montique, and Dalton Daley (Cases 11,826, 11,843, 11,846, and 11,847, Report 49/01, Jamaica), and Denton Aitken (Case 12,275, Report 58/02, Jamaica).
In particular, the IACHR stresses that 2019 saw major progress in compliance with the recommendations held in merits reports published about cases in the Caribbean. The Commission also commends Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Grenada, Jamaica, Mexico, and the United States for their efforts to implement the recommendations held in published merits reports. The IACHR notes that these moves evidence a positive response to victims of human rights violations.
The IACHR notes that monitoring efforts conducted during 2019 showed promising results in terms of compliance with recommendations. The Commission is pleased that States are increasingly adopting strategies and taking action that enable greater compliance with their international obligations. This is a consequence of the IACHR’s constant, sustained contact with stakeholders of the Inter-American Human Rights System, which has in turn enabled a positive outlook toward compliance with the Commission’s recommendations.
“Compliance with the recommendations issued by the IACHR is a crucial element that grants legitimacy to the Inter-American Human Rights System. It also lays the groundwork to build trust among the System’s stakeholders and promotes States’ good faith and commitment to complying with their international obligations,” said the IACHR’s President, Commissioner Joel Hernández.
“Dialogue among victims, petitioners, States, and the Commission is the right way to build bridges that expand the chances to implement and comply with the recommendations issued by the IACHR. These processes are now central to the international human rights agenda,” said IACHR Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão.
The Commission invites States around the Americas to keep up the pace in terms of compliance with recommendations. It also calls on the various stakeholders of the Inter-American Human Rights System to build and develop solid synergies that make it possible to protect human rights in the Americas and to provide reparations when those rights have been violated.
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 countries of origin or residence.
No. 095/20