“We have contributed to reduce the impunity that existed in many countries of the region”: Executive Secretary of the IACHR

Having visited most OAS member states, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has become the most important body for the protection and promotion of human rights in the Americas. In the past year, the Commission published the following reports:Report on the Corporal Punishment and Human Rights of Girls, Boys and Adolescents; Honduras: Impact of the Coup d'État on the Situation of Human Rights; Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela; the Rights of Women in Chile: Equality in the Family, in the Workplace and in Politics; Observations following the visit of the Rapporteur on the Rights of Afro-descendants and against Racial Discrimination in Colombia; the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence and Discrimination in Haiti; and a follow-up to the report, Access to Justice and Social Inclusion: the Road to Strengthening Democracy in Bolivia.

In this interview Santiago Canton, Executive Secretary of IACHR, spoke of the role and relevance of the Commission, the special reports it issues and its work on the protection and promotion of human rights in the hemisphere.

Currently, what are the main challenges or threats related to human rights in the Americas?

The agenda of human rights is one that is always developing and that is how it should be, because the search for dignity for all individuals has no limits. In the region there are questions that have been pending for centuries such as inequality, discrimination problems, social exclusion and poverty. It is an agenda waiting to be fulfilled in practically all nations of the region.

We cannot accept that there still are, for example, countries with easily curable health problems but thousands of children die every year for lack of care. At the same time, there are still other problems such as extrajudicial executions; impunity; the lack of independence of justice; security problems and violence against women. It can’t be said that one issue is more or less important than the other; I believe all of them should be solved by the states, in a holistic way.

But does the Commission consider any of these issues urgent or pay more attention to certain ones?

There are certain concerns where the Commission has placed special attention through its Rapporteurships. Issues like gender discrimination, domestic violence, the problem of social exclusion experienced by indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants, the problem of people deprived of liberty, of the defenders of human rights who are constantly persecuted and cannot carry out their work in a peaceful way, and freedom of expression, which is a problem in various countries of the region. These are the issues the IACHR has been focusing on and has been following up on for decades, since they are considered central to the region.

What criteria does the IACHR use to prepare reports on a specific country?

There are distinct reasons for the Commission to decide to make a report. It’s about a combination of various interests of the Commission, member states and civil society. An example of this is a report the Commission is about to publish on citizen security: there is a very keen interest on the part of both civil society and the countries on this subject. The same happens, for example, with the reports on the situation of women or the right to the truth.

How would you qualify the impact of these reports?

I believe it is truly excellent. Through the reports, the work of the IACHR and the Inter-American Court, institutional reforms have been implemented that have strengthened the rule of law of countries of the region. For example, they have promoted reforms to laws that threatened freedom of expression. The reports allow the states to have inter-American human rights standards to implement public policies, repeal laws, approve new ones, etc.

Furthermore, the reports have contributed to eliminate the historic impunity that existed in many countries of the region. Today, countries like Argentina and Chile have made progress on repealing or modifying amnesty laws that guaranteed impunity for serious violations of human rights and the same is happening in other countries, like in the case of Chile, Uruguay and El Salvador.

How would you qualify their response to the Commission’s reports?

Their response is generally good. There are undoubtedly specific situations in some countries that have not recognized the IACHR reports, but that’s not usually the case. In the past few years there has been extraordinary progress by countries on recognizing the work of the Commission. We have even seen situations where countries themselves have turned to the IACHR to file complaints against others or to ask the Commission to produce reports on specific subjects. There is, nevertheless, still much that remains to be done with respect to compliance on the part of countries.

Do you believe then that the implementation of recommendations contained in the reports is not binding for all countries?

In the IACHR’s criteria it is mandatory but unfortunately they are not always implemented. That’s the way it is in this and other similar systems. That is, the decisions of the organizations that make up the inter-American system of human rights are not always followed.

Through what strategies do you think compliance with the recommendations issued by the IACHR could be improved or maximized?

We are making progress on compliance, and this is the result of the extraordinary work that organized civil society has carried out in the countries of the region. Currently there is greater conviction by countries on the importance of meeting the decisions of the system’s bodies. There is constant dialogue. We are aware that this process can be sped up and we are convinced that it will be; the passing of time and the knowledge of the inter-American system lead to greater commitment and compliance.

Recently the IACHR published new regulations, what impact do these have on those who want to make use of the inter-American system of human rights?

The Commission on average makes regulatory reforms every 4 years. There was a very important reform carried out in 2001 that allowed for the direct representation of people, -victims and lawyers-before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The current reform is a continuation of the previous one, which gives greater certainty and transparency to the inter-American system of human rights.

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