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PRESS
RELEASE
No. 25/01
The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“the Commission” or
“the IACHR”) formally inaugurated its 113th regular session today
with a ceremony in the OAS Permanent Council.
The regular session, which will end on October 19, 2001, was
postponed as a result of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The
IACHR is made up of Dean Claudio Grossman, President; Dr. Juan E. Méndez,
First Vice-President; Ms. Marta Altolaguirre, Second Vice-President;
and commissioners Dr. Hélio Bicudo, Professor Robert K. Goldman, Dr.
Peter Laurie, and Dr. Julio Prado Vallejo.
In his inaugural address, Dean Grossman spoke of the need to
strengthen the inter-American system: In
recent years, the Commission and the Court have taken significant
steps to strengthen the inter-American human rights system.
These steps have been accompanied by the resolve and
participation of the political organs.
However, the system has yet to receive the basic human and
financial resources it needs to function.
In this
connection, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Santiago
Canton, added: It is fundamental
to make resources available to the IACHR and the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights. In
recent years, both organs have played an active role in defending
democracy in the Hemisphere. We need only cite the example of Peru, where both the IACHR
and the Inter-American Court expressed firm legal positions that
doubtless contributed to the democratic recovery of the country.
This clearly demonstrates the key role played by the two organs
and the need to strengthen the inter-American human rights system. During
the current session, the Commission will examine draft reports on
human rights violations during the procedural stages of admissibility,
merits, friendly settlement, and applications before the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The IACHR will also evaluate the human rights situation in
various OAS member states. Hearings
in connection with the 113th regular session will be held from
November 12 to 16, 2001.
President
Grossman concluded the opening ceremony on a note of optimism
regarding the future of the region:
Our
hemisphere has witnessed the invention and creative development of
technological forces that are changing the world. But it has also been marked by instances of perverse
imagination. Suffice it
to say that this is the Hemisphere that coined the term
“disappeared,” to indicate that they were no longer, they were
taken away, they did not exist, and we were not responsible.
In response, countless women and men displayed a photo for each
of the disappeared, demanded that they be recognized, and called for
their existence, thus contributing to a reality of democracy and human
rights. The loftiest
chapter in our history has been creative and humanistic imagination.
It is my deepest and most optimistic conviction that said
history, of which the globalization of human dignity and the
inter-American human rights system are an essential part, will
prevail. Washington, D.C., October 10, 2001 |