Inter-American System – Page 17 – International Justice Resource Center

Inter-American Court of Human Rights Holds 107th Session

February 19, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, children, conditions of detention, democracy & political rights, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, interim measures, massacres, property, thought, expression & association

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) convened its 107th regular session from January 26 to February 6, 2015 in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Court held hearings concerning five pending cases, provisional measures regarding Venezuelan prisons, and States’ compliance with four previous judgments. [IACtHR Press Release (Spanish)] Public hearings were held on the following pending cases: Rural Community of Santa Barbara

Former Guatemalan Police Chief Convicted for Spanish Embassy Siege

January 22, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international criminal law, liberty & security of person, security & rule of law, universal jurisdiction

On January 19, a Guatemalan court found Pedro García Arredondo, a former police chief, guilty of murder and crimes against humanity for his role in authorities’ attack on the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City in 1980. In this attack, 37 protesters burned to death when the Spanish embassy building caught fire and García Arredondo ordered the building to be sealed

IACHR Issues Report on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women in Canada

January 14, 2015 IJRC children, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, right to life, women's rights

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has published a new report on missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia, Canada. The report, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada, examines the context and efficacy of Canada’s response to the pattern of violence and discrimination against indigenous women. The report also offers recommendations to assist the Canadian

A witness testifies during Rios Montt's first genocide trial.Credit: Elena Hermosa/Trocair

Guatemalan Court Suspends Genocide Retrial of Former Dictator

January 8, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international humanitarian law, judicial independence, massacres, torture, UN treaty bodies

The retrial of former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt reopened on January 5, 2015, but was quickly suspended. [La Prensa; BBC] Charged with committing genocide and crimes against humanity against indigenous Ixil Maya of the Quiché region, the 88-year-old ex-army general is allegedly responsible for 15 massacres carried out against indigenous Mayans during his rule from 1982 to 1983,

The U.S. appears before the Committee Against Torture

Human Rights Experts Call for Prosecution, Reparations in Wake of U.S. Torture Report

December 16, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, Inter-American System, liberty & security of person, reparations, security & rule of law, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, universal jurisdiction

On Tuesday, December 9, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Intelligence Committee) published a report detailing the “abuses and countless mistakes” of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) detention and interrogation program in the years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. See Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program:

New IACtHR Judgments Address Length of Criminal Proceedings and Forced Disappearances

December 3, 2014 IJRC armed conflict, children, crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, reparations

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued judgments in two cases, one of which concerned the duration of criminal proceedings against a Peruvian soldier responsible for two civilians’ deaths, and the other the forced disappearance of children during El Salvador’s internal armed conflict. [IACtHR Press Release: Tarazona Arrieta; IACtHR Press Release: Rochac Hernández] The judgments came as the

IACHR to Assist Mexico in Investigating 43 Students’ Disappearance

November 19, 2014 IJRC civil society, crime & impunity, enforced disappearance, Inter-American System, interim measures, torture, UN Special Procedures

In response to the disappearance of 43 student protesters in the Mexican state of Guerrero, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has signed a tripartite agreement with the government of Mexico and a group of nongovernmental organizations representing the student victims and their families to provide technical assistance with the search for the students, the investigation and subsequent actions

IACHR Releases Report on Friendly Settlement Procedure

November 11, 2014 IJRC Inter-American System

On October 30, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released its report, Impact of the Friendly Settlement Procedure, elucidating the history, mechanics, and emblematic results of the friendly settlement mechanism, which allows petitioners and States to resolve disputes concerning human rights violations without obtaining a decision or judgment from an Inter-American human rights body. See IACHR, Impact of the Friendly

IACtHR: Guatemala Failed to Investigate Human Rights Defender’s Killing, Protect Family

November 5, 2014 IJRC civil society, democracy & political rights, due process & judicial protection, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, right to life

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights handed down its judgment in Case of Human Rights Defender et al. v. Guatemala, concerning the State’s failure to adequately investigate and address the 2004 killing of human rights defender Florentín Gudiel Ramos. See I/A Court H.R., Case of Human Rights Defender et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Holds Hearings on Racism in U.S. Criminal Justice System, Social Protests in Mexico, the Internet, and Other Human Rights Issues

October 29, 2014 IJRC civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international human rights, judicial independence, LGBTI rights, liberty & security of person, thought, expression & association, women's rights

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is holding its 153rd session from October 23 to November 7, 2014, with public hearings on October 27, 28, 30 and 31. The hearings allow both States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide the IACHR with information and context on 53 human rights issues, ranging from the impact of mining operations on human