Inter-American System – Page 14 – International Justice Resource Center

Argentine Court Convicts Former Dictator for Conspiracy in Operation Condor

June 7, 2016 IJRC domestic courts, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international criminal law, liberty & security of person, right to life, thought, expression & association, torture

An Argentine court has convicted and sentenced former dictator Reynaldo Bignone and 14 other former Argentine military officers of crimes against humanity for their roles in Operation Condor, a transnational conspiracy behind the kidnapping, torture, killing, and forced disappearance of hundreds of political dissidents during the 1970s and 1980s. [NYT; CIJ] Bignone was convicted of participating in an illicit association,

June 2016: Human Rights Bodies’ Sessions, Hearings, and Country Visits

May 31, 2016 IJRC children, economic, social & cultural rights, Inter-American System, international human rights, monthly overview, regional human rights protection, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, Universal system

During the month of June 2016, supranational human rights bodies’ activities will include discussion of broad human rights concerns, assessment of specific States’ practices, and visits to three countries. Two political organs, the United Nations Human Rights Council and Organization of American States General Assembly, will convene to debate issues of concern to their Member States; the latter is also

Inter-American Rights Body Suspends Hearings, Cuts Staff amid Financial Crisis

May 30, 2016 IJRC Inter-American System, international human rights, regional human rights protection

Citing a severe financial crisis, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announced on May 23, 2016 that it is suspending regular sessions and scheduled country visits effective immediately, and is set to lose 40 percent of its personnel when their contracts expire in July. In announcing the imminent cuts, the IACHR stated that the current budget shortfall highlights an

Inter-American Commission Refers Colombian “False Positives” Killings to Court

May 18, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international human rights, international humanitarian law, right to life

On April 14, 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) submitted an application to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), referring several cases that involve the extrajudicial killings by Colombian security agents. [IACHR Press Release] The victims were killed between 1992 and 1997 and were six of several thousand “falsos positivos,” a term used to refer to ordinary

May 2016: Human Rights Bodies’ Sessions, Hearings, and Country Visits

May 2, 2016 IJRC children, corporate accountability, cultural rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, European System, health, immigration & asylum, Inter-American System, international human rights, liberty & security of person, migrants, monthly overview, regional human rights protection, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, women's rights

During the month of May 2016, supranational human rights bodies’ activities will include review of dozens of States’ compliance with their treaty obligations, public hearings on individual complaints, and 11 country visits. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will hear a Finnish case concerning the tension between privacy and freedom of expression and a Belgian case

Inter-American Court: Colombian Same-Sex Partners Entitled to Equal Social Benefits

April 25, 2016 IJRC discrimination, family, Inter-American System, LGBTI rights

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has condemned Columbia’s failure to provide a gay man with equal access to public benefits following the death of his partner, as prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. See I/A Court H.R., Duque v. Colombia. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 26 February 2016. Series C No. 310 (Spanish only).

April 2016: African, Inter-American, and Universal Human Rights Sessions

April 4, 2016 IJRC African System, Inter-American System, international human rights, monthly overview, regional human rights protection, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal system

During the month of April 2016, six supranational human rights bodies will be in session. These include three regional human rights monitoring bodies: the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACtHR), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). Each will consider pending cases and human rights topics of concern in their

IACHR Releases Report on Grave Human Rights Situation in Mexico

March 7, 2016 IJRC enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, international human rights, torture

In a report released March 2, 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Inter-American Commission) has exposed the severity of Mexico’s ongoing human rights crisis. See IACHR, Situation of Human Rights in Mexico (2015). The report relies on information gathered during onsite visits conducted by the IACHR and its rapporteurships, as well as from IACHR hearings, precautionary measures, and petitions

March 2016: Regional and Universal Human Rights Bodies in Session

March 1, 2016 IJRC African System, Commission on the Status of Women, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, enforced disappearance, European System, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, international human rights, monthly overview, persons with disabilities, regional human rights protection, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, women's rights

During the month of March 2016, ten supranational human rights bodies will be in session. These include three regional human rights monitoring bodies: the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR), the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACtHR). Additionally, seven United Nations mechanisms will meet in Geneva, Switzerland: the Human Rights

Guatemala Prosecutes Soldiers For Sexual Slavery During Civil War

February 16, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international criminal law, international human rights, torture, women's rights

A landmark trial of former Guatemalan soldiers for crimes against humanity commenced this month before the country’s High Risk Court A (Tribunal de Mayor Riesgo A). In 2014, the State arrested and charged former Sepur Zarco base commander Lieutenant Colonel Esteelmer Reyes Giron and former military commissioner Heriberto Valdez Asij with acts of sexual violence, sexual slavery, murder, and forced