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PRESS RELEASE N° 56/08
IACHR BEGINS VISIT TO JAMAICA
Washington, D.C., December 1, 2008 — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) today begins a five day visit to Jamaica. The delegation is made up of IACHR Chairman Paolo Carozza, of the United States; First Chair Luz Patricia Mejía, of Venezuela; Second Chair Felipe González, of Chile; and Commissioner Sir Clare K. Roberts, of Antigua and Barbuda, who is the Rapporteur for Jamaica, as well as the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Santiago A. Canton. During the visit, the IACHR has set up its headquarters at the Pegasus Hotel, 81 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Jamaica.
During the visit, the IACHR will sign a cooperation accord with the Norman Manley Law School on Wednesday, December 3. Under this agreement, the Inter-American Commission and the Norman Manley Law School will deepen and strengthen their institutional cooperation ties in order to promote awareness of the inter-American human rights system in the Caribbean. The signing ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. with presentations by the Principal of the Norman Manley Law School, Professor Stephen Vasciannie; the IACHR Chairman, Paolo Carozza; the IACHR Rapporteur for Jamaica, Sir Clare K. Roberts; and the IACHR Executive Secretary, Santiago A. Canton. The panelists will take questions from the audience and the press, followed by the signing of the memorandum of understanding.
A public forum on the inter-American human rights system will take place on Tuesday, December 2, organized jointly by the IACHR, the Ministry of Justice of Jamaica, and the nongovernmental organization Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ). The event, which will be open to the press, will start at 6:15 p.m. at the Blue Mountain Suite of the Knutsford Court Hotel, 16 Chelsea Avenue, Kingston 5.
The delegation will hold meetings with government authorities and civil society organizations, and will conduct observation visits in Kingston and in the interior of the country. The visit begins today with a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kenneth Baugh. At the end of the visit, the IACHR will hold a press conference, which will be held on Friday, December 5, at 12:00 noon, at the Belisario Suite of the Pegasus Hotel, 81 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Commission has the mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region, under the parameters established in the American Convention on Human Rights. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who act in a personal capacity, without representing a particular country, and who are elected by the OAS General Assembly.
Read this press release in Spanish / Lea este comunicado de prensa en español
Press contact: María Isabel
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