The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has issued its judgment in the case of Kaliña and Lokono Peoples v. Suriname, which concerns interference with two indigenous communities’ claim to and use of their traditional territories due to mining operations, the establishment of nature reserves, and the provision of property titles to other individuals. [IACtHR Press Release] The judgment, adopted
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On November 18, 2015, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a new report analyzing regional human rights standards on gender equality and women’s rights, as well as their implementation by domestic judiciaries. [IACHR Press Release] The publication, Legal Standards: Gender Equality and Women’s Rights, updates a 2011 publication with references to norms and interpretations developed through 2014. Its
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) recently released its decision in a case concerning discriminatory treatment of two Mexican soldiers with HIV, after concluding that Mexico had complied with all its recommendations for remedying the violations. See IACHR, Report No. 80/15, Case 12.689, J.S.C.H and M.G.S. (Mexico), 28 October 2015. The complaint, brought on behalf of two former members of
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The ongoing civil war in Syria has uprooted more than in 4.2 million Syrian refugees and 7.6 million internally displaced persons, and these numbers are predicted to increase. [UNHCR Press Release] A survey of individuals at a UNHCR refugee camp in Turkey revealed that more than half of them left Syria because it is too dangerous to stay, often noting
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) recently added a new section to its website concerning friendly settlements and published its Handbook on the Use of the Friendly Settlement Mechanism in the IACHR Petition and Case System (Handbook) to inform petitioners about the friendly settlement procedure and best practices. The friendly settlement process allows petitioners and States to engage in
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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
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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,
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A new campaign, GQUAL, aims to address the gender imbalance on international courts and human rights bodies, where women make up less than 25% of the existing membership. [GQUAL Press Release] The campaign will work to change the nomination and voting practices of States and the relevant institutions, to ensure that gender balance is a real consideration. Through its website,
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On September 8, 2015 the National Secretariat of Communications of Ecuador (SECOM) sent a letter of notification to La Fundación Andina para la Observación y Estudio de los Medios [The Andean Foundation for the Social Observation and Study of Media] (Fundamedios), a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to promoting freedom of expression, that it was initiating an administrative process to dissolve the
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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) held its 53rd Extraordinary Session in Honduras, which began on August 24 and concluded on August 29, 2015. During this session the Court held public hearings in two cases: Quispialaya Vilcapoma v. Peru and Ángel Alberto Duque v. Colombia. The Court also held a private hearing concerning compliance on the part of Honduras with sentences
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