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Mexico to Chair OAS Working Group to Reflect on Ways to Strengthen the Inter-American Human Rights System

  October 26, 2011

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) today elected the Permanent Representative of Mexico, Joel Hernández, to chair the Special Working Group to Reflect on the Workings of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) with a view to Strengthening the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS). The election by acclamation highlighted the experience of the Mexican representative as a jurist and diplomat to guide the works of the Group, led until today by the Permanent Representative of Peru, Hugo de Zela.

Ambassador Hernández expressed his gratefulness for the nomination and explained the main lines of his role as Chair, among them the implementation of the working program already agreed upon and the adoption of the recommendations requested by the General Assembly, as well as to fully incorporate civil society in the process.

The regular session of the Permanent Council also included a presentation of the Forty-Eighth Report of the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund Committee by the Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, Deborah-Mae Lovell. The document referred to activities carried out from January 2009 to December 2010, and emphasized that the Fund has provided close to 2 million dollars in loans "that have helped the professional development of young citizens in the accomplishment of their higher education, to help students of the hemisphere finance a portion of their education and professional advancement."

The Rowe Fund is an educational OAS loan program that helps citizens from OAS Member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean finance their studies or research in accredited universities across the United States by awarding interest-free loans for up to 15,000 dollars.

These loans are granted on the understanding that recipients agree to repay the loan in full and return to their home countries to apply their knowledge and training, as well as continue to promote cultural exchange and development in the region.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-921/11