Updated March 18, 2002

Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
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OAS/IACHR: Inter-American Commission of Human Rights	OAS: Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Human Rights mandates from the
Third Summit of the Americas

Follow Up to Human Rights Mandates

 XXXI OAS General Assembly
San José, Costa Rica, June 3-5, 2001

       During the General Assembly the following resolutions were approved:

• AG/RES. 1770 (XXXI-O/01) Promotion of the International Criminal Court
  
  Resolution through which Member States that have not already done so are urged to consider the possibility of adhering to the Statute of Rome of the International Criminal Court. The Inter-American Juridical Committee is asked also to consider mechanisms to address and prevent the recurrence of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law at its next meeting with legal advisors of the foreign ministries of OAS member states.
  

• AG/RES. 1771 (XXXI-O/01) Promotion of and Respect for International Humanitarian Law
  
  This Resolution urges those Member States, that have not already done so, to consider ratifying the 1977 Additional Protocols I and II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and making the declaration contained in Article 90 of Protocol I. They are also encourage to sign and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

• AG/RES. 1774 (XXXI-O/01) Preparation of a Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance
  
  This Resolution charges the Permanent Council with advancing the consideration of the need for an Inter-American convention to prevent, sanction and eradicate racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance. The Inter-American Juridical Committee is asked, as well, to prepare an analytical document that will continue and advance Permanent Council efforts in this area. Finally, it recommends that the Inter-American Human Rights Commission pay special attention to this issue, utilizing existing Inter-American juridical instruments.
  

• AG/RES. 1775 (XXXI-O/01) The Human Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families
  
  This Resolution urges Member States to concentrate their efforts on the universalization of the Inter-American Human Rights system and increasing the number of adhesions to its fundamental instruments so that the necessary measures are taken to guarantee the human rights of all migrants, including migrant workers. It also charges the Permanent Council to continue supporting work in this area and to consider the possibility of signing measures that strengthen cooperation between states. The Permanent Council is also asked to prepare an Inter-American program for the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants. The Inter-American Human Rights Commission is asked to strengthen and support its Special Rapporteur in this area and to present a report on the status of the rights of all migrant workers and their families. This report would also reaffirm the duty of states parties to 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to comply with the Convention.

• AG/RES. 1777 (XXXI-O/01) Implementation of the Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women's Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality
  
  This Resolution seeks to reaffirm governments' commitments to integrate a gender perspective into their national programs and policies. It also urges the Secretary General to continue promoting the incorporation of a gender perspective as an integral part of the OAS' activities, policies, programs, projects and agendas.

• AG/RES. 1783 (XXXI-O/01) Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
  
  This Resolution urges Member States to concentrate their efforts on the universalization of the Inter-American Human Rights System and increasing the number of adhesions to its fundamental instruments. It also asks that they consider signing, ratifying or acceding to the American Convention on Human Rights and other instruments of the system. At the same time, the Resolution urges the Inter-American Human Rights Commission to continue promoting the observance and defense of human rights, in accordance with the norms that regulate its competence and operations, in particular the OAS Charter, the American Convention on Human Rights and the Commission's Statute and Rule of Procedure. Finally, it asks the Permanent Council to, in its next financial exercise, promote an adequate increase in the resources assigned to the CIDH, taking into account the recognition that human rights protection constitutes a fundamental priority for the organization.
  

• AG/RES. 1818 (XXXI-O/01) Human rights defenders in the Americas: support for individuals, groups and organizations of civil society working to promote and protect human rights in the Americas
  
  This Resolution reiterates its support for the work elaborated by human rights defenders and recognizes their valuable contribution to the protection, promotion and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Hemisphere. It also condemns acts that directly or indirectly impede or hinder the activities elaborated by human rights defenders in the Americas. At the same time, it urges Member States to intensify their efforts to adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the life, personal integrity and freedom of expression of these defenders, in accordance with their national legislation and the principals and norms recognized internationally. It invites the Member States to promote the dissemination and application of the instruments of the Inter-American system and the decisions of their agencies in this area, as well as the United Nations Declaration on right and responsibility of individuals, groups, and institutions to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms

• AG/RES. 1827 (XXXI-O/01) Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
  
  This resolution urges the member states, in keeping with the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, to concentrate on the universalization of the Inter-American human rights system by increasing the number of accessions to its basic instruments and, in that connection, to urge those member states that have not yet done so to give consideration, as soon as possible and as the case may be, to signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to the American Convention on Human Rights and the other instruments of the system, and to accepting the binding jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. It instructs the Permanent Council, as well, to promote in the coming fiscal periods an adequate increase in the resources allocated to the Court.

• AG/RES. 1828 (XXXI-O/01) Evaluation of the Workings of the Inter-American System for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights with a View to its Improvement and Strengthening
  
  This resolution instructs the Permanent Council to initiate concrete actions to comply with the Third Summit of the Americas Plan of Action mandates of Heads of State and Government related with the strengthening and improvement of the Inter-American system of protection and promotion of human rights, concentrated in the universalization of human rights Inter-American system. It instructs the Permanent Council to concentrate in the universalization of the Inter-American system of human rights, the compliance with the Court's decisions, the follow-up of the Commission's recommendations, the facilitation of access of persons to the Inter-American system of human rights and the substantial resource increase for the Court and the Commission, among others.

• AG/RES. 1829 (XXXI-O/01) Support for the Inter-American Human Rights Instruments
  
  This resolution requests the Permanent Council, through the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, to foster an exchange of views regarding the signature, signature and ratification, ratification of, or accession to, as the case may be, all hemispheric human rights instruments, and to continue to promote the adoption of concrete measures to strengthen and improve the Inter-American human rights system, concentrating on universal adoption of the system and on its implementation. It also recommends to the Permanent Council that it prepare and convene a specialized technical meeting, with the participation of government experts, other organs of the Inter-American system, eminent jurists and experts, and civil society, to study possibilities and actions to be taken to achieve universal adoption of the Inter-American human rights system and its implementation.

• AG/RES. 1832 (XXXI-O/01) The protection of refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons in the Americas
  
  This resolution reaffirms support for, and underscores the relevance and central importance of, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, on its 50th Anniversary, and the 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees, as the principal international instruments of a universal nature for the protection of refugees. It urges member states to observe and fulfill their obligations in this area, in accordance with universal and regional instruments pertaining to refugee rights and human rights. Also, it reiterates an appeal to member states that have not yet done so to consider in due course signing and ratifying the international instruments on refugees and adopting the procedures and institutional mechanisms for their implementation, in accordance with criteria established in universal and regional international instruments. Member states are encouraged, where applicable, to withdraw reservations made at the time of accession. Moreover, the resolution renews an appeal for inter-American cooperation in cases of mass internal displacement or the flight of refugees, to facilitate their return or resettlement, in accordance with international standards.

• AG/RES. 1833 (XXXI-O/01) Study on the access of persons to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
  
  This Resolution charges the Permanent Council to commence a study on victim access to the Inter-American Human Rights Court (ius standi) and its implementation.

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Follow Up to Human Rights Mandates

On March 7-8, 2002, the meeting of experts on ‘Support for Inter-American Human Rights Instruments’ took place in the OAS.  The meeting included the participation of prominent jurists, experts on the subject and delegates from OAS Member States. Its main objective was to offer a forum for the exchange of opinions regarding the possibilities and actions to be taken in order to achieve the universalization of human rights in the hemisphere and its implementation.

The participants concluded that the development of the Inter-American system for the protection of human rights is progressively expanding and that the universalization of Inter-American instruments is an important contributing element to the legitimacy of the that system.  Moreover, delegates concluded that the absence of universalization does not impede the progressive development of human rights in those countries that have not yet ratified the afore-mentioned instruments.

Finally, it was recommended that the follow-up to this initiative take place within the OAS with the realization of other meetings that, like this one, would promote the exchange of best practices on the defense of human rights and contribute to the full participation of the countries of the Americas in the Inter-American system.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a Seminar on the Inter-American Protection and Promotion of Human Rights System on August 23 and 24, 2001, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  It was held in response to an invitation of the Dominican Republic government and was attended by a Commission delegation integrated by the Commissioners Juan E. Méndez, Helio Bicudo and Julio Prado Vallejo and the lawyers Bertha Santoscoy and Raquel Poitevien. Parlamentarians, prosecutors, ombudsmen, judges, lawyers, law professors and students, together with policemen, correctional officers, ONG representatives and members of Civil Society were also present. 

The main objective of the seminar was to promote the respect and observance of human rights. The event brought up an intense debate within the ONGs on issues including prison conditions in the Dominican Republic, the migrant worker's situation and that of their families.

On July 19-20, 2001, a regional seminar on Human Rights took place in Belize, in which the countries of the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Suriname participated. The purpose of the seminar was to promote the system's instruments and mechanisms throughout the Caribbean region. Government officials, parliamentarians, businessmen, attorneys general, public defenders, judges, professors, psychiatrists and civil society representatives were among those who attended this meeting. The Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) hosted this event, with the support of Belize's government and the collaboration of the United Kingdom and the CARICOM Secretariat.

Updated March 18, 2002