Credit: GT PSS
Last month, the body established to monitor economic, social, and cultural rights in the Americas reviewed six States’ reports on their implementation of the rights to health, education, and social security. [IACHR Press Release] The Working Group of the Protocol of San Salvador concluded its second session during the week of October 17, 2015 at the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington, DC. [OAS Press Release] The Working Group heard government presentations and analyzed the country reports of Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay. [OAS Press Release]
This was the first time the Working Group held public, interactive discussions with the reporting States parties, in accordance with its mandate. [IACHR Press Release] Rosa María Ortiz, an alternate member of the Working Group and a commissioner on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, applauded this as a sign that the Working Group is fully functioning and carrying out its mandate. [IACHR Press Release] The reports reviewed during this session will be published next year. [OAS Press Release]
Mandate and Methodology
The Working Group began operating in 2010, after having been established by an OAS General Assembly Resolution adopted in 2007. See OAS, Protocol of San Salvador: Working Group. The seven elected members include four government representatives, two independent experts, and a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Its mandate is to monitor implementation of the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador), which codifies rights to work, satisfactory working conditions, health, and education, among others. See OAS General Assembly, Resolution 2262, Protocol of San Salvador: Composition and Functioning of the Working Group to Examine the Periodic Reports of the States Parties , OAS Doc. AG/RES. 2262, 5 June 2007. The Working Group monitors realization of the rights contained in the Protocol of San Salvador, through reviewing States’ parties periodic reports required under the treaty and by defining measures (“indicators”) for evaluating the enjoyment of these rights.
The structure of the sessions is focused on progress; States are encouraged to report on the efforts they have made to implement and fully consummate their obligations under the Protocol of San Salvador. [OAS Press Release] The Working Group discusses the reports with States and provides guidance through dialogue and the exchange of information on best practices and steps towards full observance. [IACHR Press Release] During its first session, held in February 2015, the Working Group privately examined three States’ reports. [noticias SEDI]
For reporting purposes, the rights under the Protocol of San Salvador were divided into two sections. The first includes the rights to health, education and social security; the second, rights to work, a clean environment, nutrition, the benefits of culture, and trade union rights. [OAS Press Release] The OAS has approved guidelines for States’ reports. See Standards for the Preparation of Periodic Reports Pursuant to Article 19 of the Protocol of San Salvador, approved by the General Assembly under Resolution AG/RES. 2071 (XXXV-O/05), Fort Lauderdale, United States, June 2005. During the second session, the reporting States presented on the first category of rights. [OAS Press Release]
The progress indicators for measuring compliance include general matters, such as the status of ratification and its direct applicability in domestic courts, methods of financing social services, access to information and justice, and non-discrimination in the implementation of the rights as well as specific details on the procedures and legal mechanisms for actualizing the rights. OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Progress Indicators for Measuring Rights Under the Protocol of San Salvador, OAS Doc. OEA/Ser.L/XXV.2.1, 12 October 2011.
Regional Impact
As Commissioner Ortiz highlighted, the second session of the Working Group and the first to include public dialogues with State parties indicates that it is now operational. [IACHR Press Release] This sends a message that the obligations will be enforced and compliance is mandatory for States parties, according to IACHR Commissioner Paulo Vannuchi. [IACHR Press Release]. The Working Group expressed its hope that its work will increase implementation of the Protocol in States parties and lead to greater ratification among OAS Member States. [IACHR Press Release] The Working Group further expressed their expectation that more States would soon submit their reports and their hope that all would eventually do so. [OAS Press Releasei]
Additional Information
There are currently 16 States parties to the Protocol of San Salvador and five additional signatories. For more information on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the Inter-American system, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.