The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is holding its 156th session from October 17 to 28, 2015 in Washington, D.C. [IACHR Press Release] The IACHR will conduct public hearings in four cases on its docket, and receive information from States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the 53 human rights issues, ranging from the human rights situation of LGBTI people, to the silencing of human rights defenders in Latin America, to the right to nationality in the Dominican Republic.
Live webcasts of the hearings are on the IACHR website. Video recordings and photographs of past hearings may be quickly accessed on the 156th Session webpage (in Spanish only), or via the hearing search page.
Thematic Hearings
The majority of the IACHR session will be focused on thematic hearings requested by civil society organizations to highlight issues of concern in their communities or throughout the region. These hearings are an opportunity to educate the Commissioners on particular topics and to get formal responses from the government. Beginning today, the IACHR is holding thematic hearings on various human rights problems in: Venezuela, Panama, Cuba, Grenada, El Salvador, Ecuador, Brazil, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chile, Haiti, Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras, Argentina, Bolivia, United States, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.
Other hearings will take a regional or sub-regional look at: the situation of environmental defenders challenging extractive activities, the human rights of pregnant women, access to information and national security, children of persons deprived of liberty, the human rights impacts of fiscal policies, government data collection and minorities, the interception of persons eligible for international protection, LGBT persons deprived of liberty, violence against journalists, body searches of prison visitors, water, freedom of expression, and women’s rights defenders and the environment.
The Commission granted Peru’s request for a hearing on a report by its National Commission against Discrimination.
On its own initiative, the Commission scheduled two hearings: one for the presentation of the group of experts’ report on the disappearance and killings of the 43 Ayotzinapa students in Mexico, and a second on the right to nationality in the Dominican Republic.
Tagaeri and Taromenani Indigenous Peoples in Isolation
On October 19, 2015 the Commission will conduct a hearing on the merits of a complaint by Tagaeri and Taroumenani indigenous peoples living in isolation. The petitioners allege that Ecuador has failed to protect the Tagaeri and Taroumenani communities from physical harm and invasion of their ancestral territory. They say that the State failed to take protective measures after two massacres of the population committed by illegal loggers and the Waorani people, which left them vulnerable when another massacre occurred in March 2013.
During the admissibility proceedings, Ecuador countered that it had taken measures, including the establishment and demarcation of a restricted area and the adoption of the National Policy for Peoples in Voluntary Isolation. In November 2014, the IACHR held that the petition satisfied its admissibility criteria, over the State’s objection that the petitioners had failed to exhaust all domestic remedies. IACHR, Report No. 96/14, Petition 422-06, Tagaeri and Taromenani Indigenous Peoples in Isolation (Ecuador), 6 November 2014.
Several individuals and the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities in Ecuador) will participate in the hearing. The State of Ecuador will also participate.
Paola Guzmán Albarracín and Family Members v. Ecuador
On October 19, the IACHR will also hold a hearing on the merits of a petition presented on behalf of Paola Guzmán Albarracín and her family members against Ecuador. The victim, a minor, was allegedly sexually harassed and raped by her assistant principal, resulting in her pregnancy, at a public school under the supervision of Ecuador’s Ministry of Education. The petitioners allege that school officials were aware of the abuse and did nothing to stop it. As a result of the abuse and inability to terminate the pregnancy, the victim attempted suicide and was taken to the school infirmary. The petitioners contend that the State-run school did not take the necessary steps and she was not taken to a hospital until her mother arrived. She died hours later.
The petitioners further allege that they were denied due process because of sexual prejudice, prolonged delays, and diminished charges against the accused. Ecuador did not dispute that the assistant principal sexually abused the victim, however it denies that it should be held responsible for the actions of an individual and avers that it took all necessary steps in remedying the situation. It raised an objection to admissibility on the grounds of failure to exhaust domestic remedies. The Commission found the petition admissible for consideration of the alleged violations of articles 4 (right to life), 5 (humane treatment), 8 (due process), 29 (federal clause), 24 (equal protection), and 25 (judicial protection) of the American Convention, but not for the Article 7 (right to liberty) allegations. IACHR, Report No. 76/08, Petition 1055-06, Paola Guzmán Albarracín and Family Members (Ecuador), 17 October 2008.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, Centro Ecuatoriano para la Promoción y Acción de la Mujer (Ecuadorian Center for the Promotion and Action of Women), and the State of Ecuador will participate in the public hearing.
Indigenous Peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol v. Brazil
On October 20, the IACHR will hear arguments and evidence in the case of Indigenous Peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol versus Brazil. The petitioners, representing the Ingaricό, Macuxi, Patamona, Tuarepang, and Wapichana indigenous peoples of the region, claim that Brazil’s failure to protect the indigenous land from non-indigenous settlers and development projects has resulted in severe environmental damage that obstructs their rights to life, integrity, and a healthy environment. They further allege that they are subjected to violence from non-indigenous settlors on the land. Specifically, the petitioners contend that large-scale development projects have been permitted on ancestral lands without their prior consent.
The petitioners identified incidents in 2004, 2005, and 2008 in which non-indigenous people burned homes, cultural buildings, health centers, and a library and armed assaults injured several people. The attacks allegedly were not remedied. Brazil countered that the claim was inadmissible and that it had taken substantial measures to protect the indigenous lands, including the establishment of the National Foundation of Assistance to the Indigenous with promotes compensation for indigenous peoples and was tasked with demarcating the land. In October 2010, the IACHR declared the petition admissible for consideration on the merits for all alleged violations. IACHR, Report No. 125/10, Petition 250-04, Indigenous Peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol (Brazil), 23 October 2010.
The Conselho Indígena de Roraima (Indigenous Council of Roraima), Rainforest Foundation US-RFUS, and Forest Peoples Programme will be participating as representatives of the indigenous peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol and the Brazilian government will also be participating in the hearing.
Manuel Santiz Culebra et al. (Acteal Massacre) v. Mexico
The Commission will hold a public hearing on the merits of Manuel Santiz Culebra et al. (Acteal Massacre) v. Mexico on October 20th. The petitioners allege that on December 22, 1997 paramilitary forces, acting with the acquiescence of Mexican authorities, killed 45 Tzotzil indigenous persons (including four pregnant women and 18 children) and injured 26 others at the encampment of displaced persons in Acteal.
They contend that the national security forces financed, trained, and protected the paramilitary group that targeted the camp as a stronghold for the Zapista National Liberation Army, government opposition group. After the massacre, the petitioners allege that two investigations were opened, but justice has been unduly prolonged and impunity for high level officials has been pervasive.
Mexico does not deny the events that occurred in Acteal, but stated that they were carried out by non-military groups and that the mastermind, who was responding to a recent murder, has accepted responsibility. It further states that it took immediate and appropriate measures to remedy the attack. The Commission found the petition admissible with regard to articles 1 (obligation to respect rights), 4 (right to life), 5 (humane treatment), 8 (due process), 19 (children’s rights), and 25 (judicial protection) of the American Convention in November 2010. IACHR, Report No. 146/10, Petition 212-05, Manuel Santiz Culebra et al. (Acteal Massacre) (Mexico), 1 November 2010.
Las Abejas de Acteal (The Bees of Acteal) and Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, AC State of Mexico will participate in the hearing against the State of Mexico.
Additional Resources
For more information on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and other human rights monitoring bodies visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.