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E. Other Events and Activities
Inter-American human rights treaties
100. During this reporting period, the Commission was pleased to note the ratification by certain OAS member states of treaties pertinent to the protection of human rights in the Americas.
101. On April 12, 2005, the Republic of Colombia deposited its instrument of ratification of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, and on July 11, 2005 the Republic of Honduras delivered its instrument of ratification of the same treaty, bringing to 12 the number of state parties to that Convention. Further, on December 15, 2005, Jamaica deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women, the “Convention of Belém do Pará”, reaffirming the treaty’s status as the most widely ratified human rights instrument in the inter-American system with 32 states parties.
Fellowships and Internships
102. The Commission continued in 2005 with its "Rómulo Gallegos Fellowships" program. The program provides training in the inter-American system for the protection and promotion of human rights for young attorneys from countries in the Hemisphere, who are selected annually on a competitive basis. They must have demonstrated commitment to human rights and strong academic credentials. Over the year 2005, 12 fellows worked with the Commission, 7 in the second semester of the 2004-2005 period and 5 in the first semester of the 2005-2006 period. The fellowships in the 2004-2005 period included one position dedicated to candidates from the English-speaking Caribbean as well as a French-speaking fellowship focusing on the Commission’s work in Haiti.
103. In addition to its fellowship program, the Commission continued and expanded its internship program. The Commission internships, which are administrated in cooperation with the OAS Student Intern Program, are designed for junior, senior and graduate students at the university level as well as junior professionals to allow them to work within their field of study. The object of the internships is to provide students and recent graduates in law or other related disciplines with the opportunity to learn about the Commission’s work. It also provides professionals with an opportunity to acquire practical training in the area of human rights, and to work together with the lawyers of the Executive Secretariat in different activities that are carried out by the IACHR. During 2005, the Commission received a total of 24 interns. Additional information concerning the Commission’s fellowship and internship programs can be found on its web site at www.cidh.org.
Promotional activities
104. Throughout 2005, members of the Commission and Secretariat participated in numerous international conferences, workshops and training sessions on the international protection of human rights and related topics. Topics addressed at events in which the Commission took part included the functioning of the inter-American system, the application of the death penalty, the protection of human rights in the struggle against terrorism, and contributions of the inter-American human rights system to efforts to end impunity for serious crimes under international law.
105. Also during 2005 the Commission continued its efforts to strengthen its work with the member states of the English-speaking Caribbean and Haiti. To this end, the President of the Commission, Clare K. Roberts, visited and participated in seminars in numerous Caribbean countries, including Jamaica and the Republic of Haiti.
106. The Executive Secretary and Commission staff attorneys also participated in the Tenth Annual Moot Court Competition on the inter-American system of human rights in May 2005, organized by the Washington College of Law of the American University. The competition has been convened every year since 1996 and has involved more than 1,000 students and faculty representing over 100 universities from more than 20 countries of the Hemisphere.
F. Financial Situation
107. Throughout 2005, the Commission reiterated the fact that it continued to be adversely affected by the severe financial crisis at the Organization of American States, as the volume of petitions and other areas of responsibility for the Commission continued to increase while the Commission suffered from fewer personnel and a reduced budget. The Commission therefore appealed to member states for a prompt resolution to the unsustainable situation that it continued to face.
108. Also with respect to its financial situation over 2005, the Commission noted and welcomed significant financial contributions made by the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States, as well as funding provided by the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Commission, the Rights and Democracy Foundation, the McCormick Foundation, and the University of Notre Dame, all of which contributed concretely to strengthening the inter-American human rights system.
G. Activities of the Inter-American Commission in connection with the
109. During 2005, the Commission continued to litigate a number of matters before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
110. Between January 1 and December 31, 2005, the Commission submitted 10 Cases to the Inter-American Court: Nogueira de Carvalho (Brazil), Cuatro Puntos Cardinales (Honduras), Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community (Paraguay), Workers of the Congress (Peru), Bernabe Baldeon-Garcia (Peru), Reten de Catia (Venezuela), Vargas Areco (Parauguay), Goiburú, Mancuello and Villalta (Paraguay), Claude Reyes et. al (Chile), and Almonacid Arellano (Chile). The Commission also submitted 7 requests for provisional measures to the Court: Fermín Ramírez (Guatemala), Gutiérrez Soler (Colombia), López Álvarez (Honduras), Ramírez Hinostrosa and Rivera Paz (Peru), Febem Tatuape (Brazil), Castañeda Gutman (Mexico), and the Penitentiary Centre of La Pica (Venezuela).
111. Also during 2005, the Commission participated in numerous public hearings before the Court. During the Court’s LXVI Regular Period of Sessions from 28 February to 15 March 2005, the Commission participated in hearings on the following matters and cases: Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay (4 and 5 March 2005), Case of the Massacre of Mapiripan v. Colombia (7 and 8 March 2005), Yatama v. Nicaragua (9 and 10 March 2005), Gutierrez Soler v. Colombia (10 and 11 March 2005), the Case of Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic, and hearings on the provisional measures in the matters of Jiguamiando and Curbarado Colombia, and the San Jose de Apartado Peace Community, both regarding Colombia (14 March 2005). During the XXVI Extraordinary Session of the Court, held in Asunción, Paraguay from 9 to 13 de mayo de 2005, the Commission appeared before the Court in the cases of Palamara Iribarne v. Chile (9 May 2005), Garcia-Asto and Ramirez-Rojas v. Peru (10 May 2005), and in the Provisional Measures adopted in the matters of Penitentiaries of Mendoza (Argentina, 11 May 2005) and the Sarayaku Indigenous Community (Ecuador, 11 May 2005). During the LXVII Regular Period of Sessions, from 13 to 30 June 2005, the Commission appeared before the Tribunal in the Cases of Blanco-Romero et al v. Venezuela (27 and 28 June 2005), of Lopez-Alvarez v. Honduras (28 and 29 June 2005), and in the public hearing convened to hear the parties on the matter of the Barrios et al. Provisional Measures, regarding Venezuela (29 June 2005). During the LXVIII Regular Session of the Court, held from 7 to 24 September 2005, the Commission appeared before the Court at public hearing in the Cases of the Massacre of Pueblo Bello v. Colombia (19 and 20 September 2005), the Case of Sitramun v. Peru (20 and 21 September 2005), and the Case of the Massacres of Ituango v. Colombia (22 and 23 September 2005). Finally, during the LXIX Regular Session, held from 17 November to 2 December 2005, the Commission appeared at the public hearings in the Case of Ximenes Lopes v. Brazil (30 November and 1 December 2005), and in the matter of the Provisional Measures adopted in relation to the Febem Tatuape detention centre, also in Brazil (29 November 2005).
112. During this reporting period, the Commission also took note of several judgments issued by the Court in 2005 in relation to the cases before it, including: the judgement on merits in the case of the Serrano Cruz sisters v. El Salvador, issued on 1 March 2005; the judgement on merits and reparations in the Huilca Tecse Case v. Peru (3 March 2005); the judgement on merits and preliminary objections and acknowledgement of responsibility in the Case of the Massacre of Mapiripan v. Colombia, issued on 7 March 2005; the judgement on merits and reparations in the Winston Caesar Case v. Trinidad and Tobago (11 March 2005); the judgement on merits and reparations in the Case of the Moiwana Indigenous Community v. Suriname, issued on 15 June 2005; the judgement on merits and reparations in the case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay (17 June 2005); the judgement on merits and reparations in the Fermin Ramirez Case v. Guatemala, issued on 20 June 2005; the judgement on merits and reparations in the Yatama Case v. Nicaragua (23 June 2005); the judgement on the request for interpretation of judgement presented in the Berenson Mejia Case v. Peru, issued on 23 June 2005; the judgement on the merits and reparations in the Acosta Calderon Case v. Ecuador (24 June 2005); the judgement on merits and reparations in the Yean and Bosico Case v. Dominican Republic, issued on 8 September 2005; the judgement on the request for interpretation of judgement in the Serrano Cruz Case v. El Salvador (9 September 2005); the judgement on merits and reparations in the Gutierrez Soler Case v. Colombia, issued on 12 September 2005; the judgement on merits and reparations in the Raxcaco Reyes Case v. Guatemala (15 September 2005); the judgement on merits and reparations in the Case of the Massacre of Mapiripan v. Colombia, issued on 15 September 2005; the judgement on the merits and reparations in the Palamara Iribarne Case v. Chile (22 November 2005); the judgement on merits and reparations in the Gomez Palomino Case v. Peru, issued on 22 November 2005; the judgement on merits and reparation in the Garcia-Asto and Ramirez-Rojas Case v. Peru (25 November 2005); the judgement on merits and reparations in the Blanco-Romero et.al. Case v. Venezuela, issued on 28 November 2005; and finally the judgement on preliminary objections in the Ximenes Lopes Case v. Brazil (30 November 2005).
113. The Court issued statements in three advisory proceedings during 2005: on 28 November 2005, it issued Advisory Opinion OC-19, concerning the control of legality of the quasi-jurisdictional attributions of the Inter-American Commission. During the year, two other resolutions were issued in relation to advisory proceedings OC-20, initiated by the Commission and concerning the application of death penalty; and OC-21, filed by Costa Rica and concerning the compatibility of certain domestic legislation with the American Convention. In the first proceeding, the Court deemed it unnecessary to issue an Advisory Opinion; in the second, it considered that it was not possible to issue it.
H. Thirty-fifth regular session of the OAS General Assembly
114. During the thirty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, which was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States from June 5 to 7, 2005, the Commission was represented by its President, Clare K. Roberts and its Executive Secretary Santiago A. Canton. The Commission’s President addressed the General Assembly on the general situation of human rights in the OAS member states and formally presented the Commission's 2004 Annual Report.
115. The General Assembly adopted several resolutions in the area of human rights and humanitarian law. Because of their importance for the promotion and defense of human rights in the Americas and for consolidation of the inter-American system, the following resolutions are reproduced below:
AG/RES. 2066 (XXXV-O/05)
DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON THE
INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM FOR
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING that the Charter of the Organization of American States establishes that “[t]he Member States will give primary importance within their development plans to the encouragement of education, science, technology, and culture, oriented toward the overall improvement of the individual, and as a foundation for democracy, social justice, and progress”;
BEARING IN MIND that the Inter-American Democratic Charter reaffirmed that the promotion and protection of human rights is a basic prerequisite for the existence of a democratic society; considered that education is an effective way to promote citizens’ awareness concerning their own countries and thereby achieve meaningful participation in the decision-making process; and restated the importance of human resource development for a sound democratic system;
Recalling that the Heads of State and Government, at the Special Summit of the Americas, adopted the Declaration of Nuevo León, in which, inter alia, they reaffirmed the hemispheric commitment to democracy, to strengthening the rule of law, and to the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
RECALLING ALSO operative paragraph 4 of resolution XXVII, adopted by the Tenth Inter-American Conference, held in Caracas in 1954, in which the Conference requested “the American governments to take appropriate steps to foster the teaching in their schools and universities of the subject of fundamental human rights and duties and their significance, in accordance with the American and universal declarations”;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT resolution AG/RES. 2030 (XXXIV-O/04), “Strengthening of Human Rights Systems pursuant to the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas,” in which the General Assembly reaffirmed the commitment of the member states to continue strengthening and improving the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights through concrete actions;
CONSIDERING that the OAS and its member states should promote the inter-American human rights system, inter alia, by disseminating information on the work of the organs of the inter-American human rights system and cooperating in the preparation of teaching and research programs in the area of human rights;
BEARING IN MIND that it is the responsibility of member states to adopt appropriate legislative, judicial, administrative, and other types of measures to promote an awareness and understanding by all persons under their jurisdiction of their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights by publishing and making widely available national laws and regulations and basic international instruments on human rights, as well as to foster and facilitate the teaching of human rights and freedoms at all educational levels and in all educational settings; and
CONSIDERING that every constitution in the Hemisphere guarantees the protection of human rights,
RESOLVES:
1. To acknowledge the progress being made by member states and the actions and policies they are implementing to disseminate in schools and universities and, where applicable, in police and military training facilities, the articles devoted to human rights in each country’s constitutional texts, as well as the American Convention on Human Rights and other hemispheric instruments on the protection of human rights.
2. To take into account the II Inter-American Report on Human Rights Education, prepared by the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights; and to suggest to states that its recommendations be implemented as soon as possible.
3. To suggest to member states that they consider, if they have not already done so and in keeping with the educational or dissemination programs they are carrying out, the advisability of taking inter alia, for example, the following measures:
a. Seeking methods designed to make students aware of the human rights rules and regulations in force in each state, and encouraging their across-the-board inclusion in the academic curricula of educational institutions;
b. Seeking teaching methods that will enable students to become familiar with human rights, to respect and promote them, and to relate them to their day-to-day lives, so as to foster behaviors necessary to ensure, inter alia, peaceful coexistence, democratic participation, diversity, and pluralism;
c. Preparing teaching materials for human rights education;
d. Providing ongoing training in human rights education to teachers at all levels;
e. Organizing discussion groups on implementation of the system for promoting and protecting human rights;
f. Holding periodic contests on awareness and application of norms for the protection of human rights;
g. Encouraging student and teacher participation in discussion and research on progress and developments in the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights in their respective countries; and
h. Encouraging the teaching and dissemination of human rights through the media.
5. To propose to the ministers of education, scheduled to meet in Trinidad and Tobago in August 2005, that they include on the agenda for the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Education consideration of concrete actions and programs for disseminating information on the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights in the educational institutions of member states, in coordination, inter alia, with the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.
AG/RES. 2067 (XXXV-O/05)
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS:
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05 add. 3) as it pertains to this topic, and resolution AG/RES. 2036 (XXXIV-O/04), “Human Rights Defenders: Support for the Individuals, Groups, and Organizations of Civil Society Working to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Americas”;
RECALLING the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
CONCERNED that situations persist in the Americas that directly or indirectly prevent or hamper the work of individuals, groups, or organizations working to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms;
CONSIDERING that member states support the work carried out by human rights defenders and recognize their valuable contribution to the promotion, observance, and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Americas, and to the representation and defense of individuals, minorities, and other groups of persons whose rights are threatened or violated;
TAKING NOTE that, in its decisions granting provisional measures, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has highlighted the importance of the work of human rights defenders to the development of democracies in the Americas;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the work accomplished by the Unit for Human Rights Defenders of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the member states’ replies to the questionnaire drawn up by that unit with a view to preparing a comprehensive report on the subject; and
UNDERSCORING that the work of human rights defenders has a decisive impact on the consolidation of democratic institutions and the enhancement of national human rights systems,
RESOLVES:
1. To reiterate its support for the work carried out, at both the national and regional levels, by human rights defenders; and to recognize their valuable contribution to the promotion, observance, and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Hemisphere. 2. To recognize that, in view of their specific role and needs, women human rights defenders should be accorded special attention to ensure that they are fully protected and effective in carrying out their important activities.
3. To condemn actions that directly or indirectly prevent or hamper the work of human rights defenders in the Americas.
4. To encourage human rights defenders to continue to work selflessly for the enhancement of national human rights systems for the consolidation of democracy, in accordance with the principles contained in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
5. To urge member states to continue stepping up their efforts to adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the lives, freedom, and personal safety of human rights defenders and to conduct thorough and impartial investigations in all cases of violations against human rights defenders, ensuring that the findings thereof are transparent and publicized.
6. To invite the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to conclude as soon as possible its comprehensive report on the situation of human rights defenders in the Americas, in keeping with resolution AG/RES. 1842 (XXXII-O/02).
7. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to:
a. Continue to give due consideration to this matter;
b. Continue to intensify its dialogue and cooperation with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders; and
c. Include in its annual report a section on the work of its Unit for Human Rights Defenders.
8. To invite member states to promote the dissemination and enforcement of the instruments of the inter-American system and the decisions of its bodies on this matter, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
9. To invite member states to consider the preparation and implementation of national plans to apply the principles contained in the United Nations Declaration mentioned in the preceding paragraph, for which purpose they may also request the advisory services of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
10. To urge member states that have not yet done so to reply to the questionnaire prepared by the Unit for Human Rights Defenders of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
11. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2072 (XXXV-O/05)
PROMOTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT[1]/
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1619 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1706 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1709 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1770 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1771 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1900 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1929 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2039 (XXXIV-O/04);
RECALLING ALSO the recommendation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OEA/Ser.L/V/II.102, Doc. 6 rev., April 16, 1999, Chapter VII, 21.3.B), as well as its resolution N° 1/03, on the prosecution of international crimes, and the document “Framework for OAS Action on the International Criminal Court” (AG/INF.248/00);
RECOGNIZING that the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, on July 17, 1998, in Rome, is a milestone in efforts to combat impunity, and that the Court is an effective instrument for consolidating international justice;
DISMAYED by the persistent violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law;
AFFIRMING that all states have the primary duty to prosecute and punish those violations so as to prevent their recurrence and avoid the impunity of the perpetrators of those crimes;
CONVINCED of the importance of preserving the effectiveness and legal integrity of the Rome Statute and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, and recognizing the firm resolve of the states parties to preserve them;
CONVINCED ALSO of the importance of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties for preserving the effectiveness and legal integrity of the Rome Statute;
WELCOMING the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on July 1, 2002, because as of that date the Court became the judicial body complementing the efforts of national jurisdictions to prosecute the perpetrators of the most serious international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes;
RECOGNIZING that 139 states, including 27 members of the Organization of American States, have signed the Rome Statute and that 97 have ratified or acceded to it, among them 20 members of the Organization of American States;
NOTING that only 17 countries of the Hemisphere have signed and three have ratified the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court;
EXPRESSING ITS SATISFACTION with the holding at the Organization’s headquarters on April 1, 2005, within the framework of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, of the Working Meeting on Appropriate Measures That States Should Take to Cooperate with the International Criminal Court in the Investigation, Prosecution, and Punishment of the Perpetrators of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, Genocide, and Crimes against the Administration of Justice of the International Criminal Court, at which the President of the International Criminal Court was present; and
TAKING NOTE of the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05 add. 3),
RESOLVES:
1. To urge those member states of the Organization that have not already done so to consider ratifying or acceding to, as the case may be, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
2. To urge all member states of the Organization to continue to participate constructively, even as observer states, in the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in order to ensure the best possible operating environment for the Court, in a context of unconditional defense of the integrity of the Rome Statute and of the Court’s jurisdiction.
3. To urge the member states of the Organization that are parties to the Rome Statute to adapt and amend their domestic law, as necessary, with a view to the full and effective application of the Statute.
4. To urge those member states that are not party to the Rome Statute to adapt their criminal legislation in accordance with such instruments of international human rights law or international humanitarian law as may be applicable to them.
5. To urge the member states of the Organization to consider signing and ratifying the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court, or acceding thereto, as the case may be, and in the case of those states that are already party to that Agreement to take the necessary measures for its full and effective implementation at the national level.
6. To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee to draw up a questionnaire, to be presented to the OAS member states, on how their laws allow for cooperation with the International Criminal Court and, on the basis of the findings of the questionnaire, to present a report to the Permanent Council, which, in turn, will transmit it to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session.
7. To urge the member states of the Organization to cooperate among themselves and, as appropriate, with the International Criminal Court so as to avoid the impunity of the perpetrators of the most serious international crimes, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
8. To request the Permanent Council to hold a working meeting on appropriate measures that states should take to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes against the administration of justice of the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations will be invited to cooperate and to participate in this working meeting.
9. To request the Permanent Council to include the topic of the implementation of the Rome Statute and the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities on the agenda of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs.
10. To request the Secretary General to present a report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session.
AG/RES. 2073 (XXXV-O/05)
AMERICAN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1022 (XIX-O/89), AG/RES. 1479 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1549 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 1610 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1708 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1780 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1851 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1919 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2029 (XXXIV-O/04);
BEARING IN MIND that, since resolution AG/RES. 1022 (XIX-O/89) of 1989, the General Assembly has requested the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “to prepare a juridical instrument relative to the rights of the Indian peoples” and that in 1999, by resolution AG/RES. 1610 (XXIX-O/99), the General Assembly established a Working Group of the Permanent Council to consider the “Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” presented by the IACHR (CP/doc.2878/97 corr. 1);
CONSIDERING the commitments undertaken by the Heads of State and Government in the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, Canada, and renewed in the Declaration of Nuevo León, at the Special Summit of the Americas, in Monterrey, Mexico, in January 2004, in support of an early and successful conclusion of negotiations on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
ACKNOWLEDGING the important contributions received by the Specific Fund to Support the Preparation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the efficient work of the Selection Board in the selection process for representatives of the indigenous peoples to receive financing from the Specific Fund;
NOTING WITH SATISFACTION the holding of a special meeting, and two meetings of negotiations in the quest for points of consensus, of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, among representatives of the member states and representatives of the indigenous peoples, in keeping with the mandates issued in operative paragraph 4, subparagraphs (d) and (a), of resolution AG/RES. 2029 (XXXIV-O/04); and
HAVING SEEN the report of the Chair of the Working Group on activities carried out over the past year, which pointed out, in particular, the progress made at the special meeting and the two meetings held in the final phase of negotiations in pursuit of points of consensus, in Washington, D.C., in November 2004 and February 2005, respectively,
RESOLVES:
1. To reaffirm once again that the adoption of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples remains a priority for the Organization of American States, emphasizing the importance of participation by the indigenous peoples in the process of preparing the draft Declaration.
2. To acknowledge the importance of the final phase of negotiations initiated by the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in which negotiation meetings were arranged in pursuit of a consensus and an early and successful conclusion of the draft Declaration.
3. To renew the mandate of the Working Group so that it may conclude the final phase of negotiations on the draft Declaration, starting from the consolidated text of the draft Declaration prepared by the Chair of the Working Group (GT/DADIN/doc.139/03) and considering the proposed Declaration presented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CP/doc.2878/97 corr. 1) and the proposals by member states, representatives of indigenous peoples, specialized organizations of the inter-American system, and other entities.
4. To request the Permanent Council to instruct the Working Group to:
a. Give increased emphasis to the holding of negotiation meetings with a view to the prompt adoption of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and
b. Continue to take the appropriate measures to ensure continuing transparency of, and effective participation by representatives of indigenous peoples in, the negotiation meetings in pursuit of points of consensus.
5. To thank the member states, permanent observers, and institutions for their valuable contributions to the Specific Fund to Support the Preparation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; to invite them to continue supporting the objectives of the Fund with their contributions; and to invite those that have yet to contribute to the Specific Fund to consider doing so.
6. To invite the multilateral organizations, development banks, and specialized multilateral agencies of the Hemisphere also to contribute to the Specific Fund in order to provide continued support for activities involving the participation of representatives of the indigenous peoples in the process of preparation by the Working Group of the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well to fund the Group’s other activities.
7. To invite the multilateral organizations, development banks, and specialized multilateral agencies of the Hemisphere to contribute, in their areas of competence, to a process of dialogue and consultation with indigenous peoples and to facilitate the exchange of information and coordination with other bodies of the inter-American system on activities relating to indigenous peoples, including activities undertaken in the context of the Summits of the Americas process.
8. To invite the governments of the member states to continue conducting domestic consultations with their indigenous peoples on the draft Declaration and to promote information exchanges among countries regarding those consultations.
9. To request the Secretary General to enhance coordination, awareness, and promotion of activities on indigenous issues among the various pertinent organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization and to promote the exchange of information and coordination with multilateral organizations, development banks, and specialized multilateral agencies of the Hemisphere on these activities.
10. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, and the General Secretariat of the Organization to continue to lend their valuable support to the process of drafting the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and to thank them for their ongoing contributions to that process.
11. To request the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution, which will be implemented within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources, and to present a report on its implementation to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session.
AG/RES. 2074 (XXXV-O/05)
STANDARDS FOR THE PREPARATION OF PERIODIC
REPORTS PURSUANT
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05 add. 3), as well as resolutions AG/RES. 2030 (XXXIV-O/04) and AG/RES. 2041 (XXXIV-O/04);
CONSIDERING the provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights, Chapter III of which refers to economic, social, and cultural rights;
UNDERSCORING the entry into force, in November 1999, of the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights “Protocol of San Salvador,” and its ratification by 13 member states of the Organization of American States;
RECALLING that both the American Convention and the Protocol of San Salvador recognize that the essential rights of an individual are not derived from one’s being a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of the human person;
BEARING IN MIND that, in Article 19 of the Protocol of San Salvador, the states parties undertake to submit, pursuant to the provisions of that article and the corresponding rules to be formulated for that purpose by the OAS General Assembly, periodic reports on the progressive measures they have taken to ensure due respect for the rights set forth in said Protocol; and
RECOGNIZING that, in resolution AG/RES. 2030 (XXXIV-O/04), the Permanent Council was instructed to propose standards for the preparation of the periodic reports referred to in the preceding paragraph,
RESOLVES:
1. To adopt the Standards for the Preparation of Periodic Reports pursuant to Article 19 of the Protocol of San Salvador, which are appended to this resolution.
2. To instruct the Permanent Council to make proposals as soon as possible, through the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, on the composition and functioning of the Working Group established to examine the national reports, which would constitute qualitative progress in the area.
3. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to propose to the Permanent Council for possible adoption, pursuant to the Standards referred to in operative paragraph 1 of this resolution, the progress indicators to be used for each group of protected rights on which information is to be provided, taking into account, among other things, the contributions of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.
4. To direct that the time periods for submission of the national progress reports that the states parties to the Protocol of San Salvador are to present begin with the Permanent Council’s fulfillment of the provisions of operative paragraphs 2 and 3 of this resolution.
5. To urge member states to consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be, the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights “Protocol of San Salvador.”
6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2075 (XXXV-O/05)
STRENGTHENING OF HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEMS
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05), as well as resolutions AG/RES. 1828 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1890 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1925 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2030 (XXXIV-O/04);
REAFFIRMING that the universal promotion and protection of human rights, including civil and political, and economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as respect for the rules and principles of international humanitarian law and international refugee law, based on the principles of universality, indivisibility, and interdependence, are fundamental to the functioning of democratic societies; and stressing the importance of respect for the rule of law, effective and equal access to justice, and participation by all elements of society in public decision-making processes;
EXPRESSING that greater autonomy for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in the context of the Charter of the Organization of American States, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the Statute and the Rules of Procedure of said Commission, will lead to improvements in the inter-American human rights system;
CONSIDERING that the Organization can serve as a forum for contributing to the efforts of member states to develop and strengthen national systems for the promotion and protection of human rights;
BEARING IN MIND the Declaration and the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, adopted in Quebec City, Canada; and
BEARING IN MIND ALSO the efforts and the progress made in the context of the aforementioned resolutions,
RESOLVES:
1. To reaffirm the commitment of member states to continue strengthening and improving the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights and, in that connection, to continue to take concrete measures aimed at implementing the respective mandates of the Heads of State and Government, as set forth in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas:
a. Universalization of the Inter-American human rights system by considering the signature and ratification or ratification of, or accession to, as soon as possible and as the case may be, all universal and inter-American human rights instruments;
b. Compliance with the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and follow-up of the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
c. Facilitation of access for individuals to the inter-American human rights system;
d. A substantial increase in the budget of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and that of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights so that, within a reasonable time, they may address their growing activities and responsibilities; and
e. Examination of the possibility that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights may come to operate on a permanent basis, taking into account, among other things, the views of those organs.
2. To recognize recent progress made in the specific areas of the inter-American human rights system identified in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, namely:
a. The initiation, within the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP) of the Permanent Council, of the broad process of reflection on the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights;
b. The start of a dialogue, within the CAJP, between member states and the organs of the inter-American human rights system (Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights), in which the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights also participated;
c. The beginning of the process of reflection by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights during the special session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, held in Mexico City on July 19 and 20, 2004;
d. Establishment of the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará” (MESECVI);
e. The “standards for the preparation of periodic reports on progressive measures adopted by the states parties to the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, or ‘Protocol of San Salvador,’ as provided in Article 19 of that legal instrument”;
f. Application of the new Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and those of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which has resulted, inter alia, in increased participation by victims in proceedings before the Court and greater use of the friendly settlement procedure in cases considered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, as well as follow-up by the Commission on compliance with its recommendations on this subject;
g. The deposit by Colombia of the instrument of ratification of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons; and
h. The voluntary contributions to facilitate the work of the organs of the inter-American human rights system made by Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico, along with the European Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; and by Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, and the United States, along with Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Sweden, the European Union, the Ford Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the McCormick Tribune Foundation, and the University of Notre Dame, for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
3. To instruct the Permanent Council to meet the objectives mentioned in operative paragraph 1 and to complement and consolidate the progress referred to in operative paragraph 2, by:
a. Continuing the broad process of reflection on the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights, initiated within the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, in consultation with the member states, specialized agencies of the inter-American human rights system, nongovernmental organizations, national human rights institutes, academic institutions, and experts in the field, regarding:
i. The major challenges facing the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Hemisphere;
ii. Possible actions to strengthen and improve the system; and
iii. The advisability of convening an inter-American human rights conference.
b. Continuing to examine ways to bring about an effective and adequate increase in the financial resources allocated to the organs of the inter-American human rights system in the program-budget of the Organization;
c. Supporting any initiatives taken by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to request funding from international and regional agencies to further the activities of the organs of the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights;
d. Encouraging, in addition, member states to contribute to the Specific Fund for Strengthening the Inter-American System for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights;
e. Continuing to consider ways to promote compliance with the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and follow-up on the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by member states;
f. Continuing to analyze the priorities for improvement of the inter-American human rights system, including consideration of the possibility that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights may come to operate on a permanent basis, taking into account related information provided by the presidents of both organs;
g. Holding each year, within the CAJP, the dialogue between the member states and the members of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the way the inter-American human rights system operates. The Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs will establish the agenda for said meeting at least two months in advance; and
h. Requesting the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to:
i. Continue to report on the correlation between, on the one hand, their respective Rules of Procedure and the amendments thereto that they adopt, and, on the other, the provisions of their respective Statutes and of the American Convention on Human Rights; and
ii. Continue to report on the impact and the meaning in practice of these regulatory reforms for the work of both organs and for the strengthening of the system.
4. To reaffirm the commitment of our Heads of State and Government to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Hemisphere by strengthening the capacity of governmental institutions mandated to do so and, in that connection, to instruct the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs to devote a meeting, prior to the Fourth Summit of the Americas, to the progress made on this topic, among other things.
5. To continue to promote the strengthening of national systems for the promotion and protection of human rights in member states and, to that end, to urge the pertinent organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization to provide, in accordance with their capabilities and resources, cooperation and technical support to the member states that so request, in order to help enhance compliance with their international human rights obligations, and to develop cooperative relations and information exchange, inter alia, with the Network of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the Americas and the Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen.
6. To request the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution, which will be implemented in accordance with the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources, and to present a report on its implementation to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session. AG/RES. 2118 (XXXV-O/05)
FIGHTING THE CRIME OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Annual Report on Fighting the Crime of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women, Adolescents and Children in the Americas (CP/doc.4023/05);
RECALLING resolutions AG/RES. 2019 (XXXIV-O/04), “Fighting the Crime of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women, Adolescents, and Children”; AG/RES. 2026 (XXXIV-O/04), “Fighting Transnational Organized Crime in the Hemisphere”; and AG/RES. 2040 (XXXIV-O/04), “Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers of Attorneys General of the Americas”;
RECOGNIZING that, on May 10, 2005, the Working Group to Prepare for the Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons decided that said meeting would approach its study of the subject in an integrated fashion and address the three mandates on the topic, taking into account all OAS efforts against transnational organized crime and, in particular, against trafficking in persons, especially women and children, in keeping with the aforementioned resolutions;
RECOGNIZING ALSO the valuable work and studies of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) on trafficking in persons, especially on its prevention and on the protection of victims, and the need for all OAS bodies and entities to address the topic of trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, in a coordinated manner, so as to achieve a comprehensive perspective; and
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the conclusions and recommendations of the Meeting of Government Experts to Consider the Advisability of Developing a Hemispheric Plan of Action against Transnational Organized Crime, in accordance with resolution AG/RES. 2026 (XXXIV-O/04), which took place at OAS headquarters on April 18 and 19, 2005,
RESOLVES:
1. To reiterate the request to member states to consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children supplementing said Convention, and to take the necessary national measures to implement those instruments.
2. To urge member states to consider, as appropriate, signing or ratifying the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors.
3. To renew the mandate to the Permanent Council to convene a meeting of national authorities on trafficking in persons, before the thirty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly, with the purpose of studying mechanisms for integral cooperation among states to ensure the protection of and assistance to victims, prevention of the crime, and punishment of its perpetrators, bearing in mind respect for the human rights of victims. Likewise, the meeting will facilitate the sharing of information and experience, policy dialogue, and cooperation among countries of origin, transit, and destination in cases of trafficking in persons, as well as the establishment or improvement of statistical records in this regard.
4. To request that the Permanent Council, through the Working Group to Prepare for the Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons, call upon the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Summits of the Americas Secretariat, the Office of Inter-American Law and Programs, the Tourism and Small Enterprise Division, the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the Department of Multidimensional Security and its Office of International Threats, and the Office of Education, Science, and Technology to work with the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and related international organizations on the preparatory work, so that the topic will be approached from an integrated, comprehensive perspective, in the context of the Palermo Convention.
5. To direct that, with respect to law enforcement aspects and compliance, the topic be considered by the Special Joint Committee on Transnational Organized Crime in collaboration, as appropriate, with the CIM, the IIN, and other relevant organs and entities of the Organization, considering that trafficking in persons is a manifestation of transnational organized crime which involves social aspects that should be addressed through strategies on prevention and attention to the victims.
6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, and to the next Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-VI).
7. To instruct the Secretary General of the Organization to provide the necessary services for the implementation of the measures envisaged in this resolution, in accordance with the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2120 (XXXV-O/05)
PRESENTATION OF
CANDIDATES FOR MEMBERSHIP ON
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
BEARING IN MIND that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is composed of distinguished individuals from the field of human rights who have developed a system for the protection of human rights in the Americas and have consolidated the legal mechanisms needed for effective protection;
CONSIDERING that defense of the individual and of his or her fundamental rights is one of the basic principles on which the Organization of American States was founded, as indicated in Article 3.l of the Charter of the Organization, which establishes as one of its principles that the American states proclaim the fundamental rights of the individual without distinction as to race, nationality, creed, or sex;
CONSIDERING ALSO that the importance of respect for human rights was reaffirmed by the adoption of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, a document that complements the OAS Charter and recognizes that the essential rights of man are not derived from the fact that he is a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of his human personality, and that the international protection of the rights of man should be the principal guide of an evolving American law;
RECALLING that the basic criteria for guaranteeing the suitability of members of the Commission to be elected should be the requirements set forth in Article 34 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which establishes that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights shall be composed of seven members, who shall be persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights;
RECALLING ALSO that Article 52.l of the American Convention on Human Rights stipulates that the Court shall consist of seven judges, nationals of the member states of the Organization, elected in an individual capacity from among jurists of the highest moral authority and of recognized competence in the field of human rights, who possess the qualifications required for the exercise of the highest judicial functions in conformity with the law of the state of which they are nationals or of the state that proposes them as candidates; and
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the need to respect the juridical functions performed by persons elected to serve as members of the juridical bodies and/or human rights protection organs of the OAS and the need to ensure that the selection process for those positions completely protects their independence, impartiality, and juridical integrity,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge member states to continue to present candidates for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, taking into account the requirements established in Article 34 and Article 52.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights, Article 2 of the Statute of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Article 4 of the Statute of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
2. To invite member states to consider the possibility of organizing consultations with civil society organizations in order to help propose the best candidacies for positions with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
3. To request that the General Secretariat, upon receipt of a candidacy to hold office in one of those bodies, publish the corresponding candidate’s curriculum vitae on the OAS website.
AG/RES. 2121 (XXXV-O/05)
ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION: STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY[2]/
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Report of the Chair of the Permanent Council on the Implementation of Resolution AG/RES. 2057 (XXXIV-O/04), “Access to Public Information: Strengthening Democracy” (CP/doc.4025/05), presented on May 11, 2005;
CONSIDERING that Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights provides that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice”;
CONSIDERING ALSO that Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes the freedom “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”;
RECALLING that the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City in 2001, indicates that governments will ensure that national legislation is applied equitably to all, respecting freedom of expression and access to public information of all citizens;
EMPHASIZING that Article 4 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter states that transparency in government activities, probity, responsible public administration on the part of governments, respect for social rights, and freedom of expression and of the press are essential components of the exercise of democracy;
NOTING that, in the Declaration of Nuevo León, the Heads of State and Government affirmed that access to information held by the state, subject to constitutional and legal norms, including those on privacy and confidentiality, is an indispensable condition for citizen participation and promotes effective respect for human rights, and, in that connection, that they are committed to providing the legal and regulatory framework and the structures and conditions required to guarantee the right of access to public information;
BEARING IN MIND the adoption of the Declaration of Santiago on Democracy and Public Trust: A New Commitment to Good Governance for the Americas [AG/DEC. 31 (XXXIII-O/03)], as well as resolution AG/RES. 1960 (XXXIII-O/03), “Program for Democratic Governance in the Americas”;
CONSIDERING that the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) has been identifying and facilitating access by member states to e-government practices that facilitate information and communication technology applications in governmental processes;
CONSIDERING ALSO that the Office for the Promotion of Democracy (OPD) has been providing support to member states in dealing with the topic of access to public information;
NOTING the work accomplished by the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI) on this issue, in particular the document “Right to Information: Access to and Protection of Information and Personal Data in Electronic Format” (CJI/doc.25/00 rev. 1);
RECOGNIZING that the goal of achieving an informed citizenry must be rendered compatible with other societal aims, such as safeguarding national security, public order, and protection of personal privacy, pursuant to laws passed to that effect;
RECOGNIZING ALSO that democracy is strengthened through full respect for freedom of expression, access to public information, and the free dissemination of ideas, and that all sectors of society, including the media, through the public information they disseminate to citizens, may contribute to a climate of tolerance of all views, foster a culture of peace, and strengthen democratic governance;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the important role civil society can play in promoting broad access to public information;
TAKING NOTE of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and of the Joint Declaration by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Representative on Freedom of the Media, and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, adopted on December 6, 2004;
TAKING NOTE ALSO of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the situation of access to information in the Hemisphere for 2003 and 2004; and
RECALLING initiatives taken by civil society regarding access to public information, in particular, the Declaration of Chapultepec, the Johannesburg Principles, the Lima Principles, and the Declaration of the SOCIUS Peru 2003: Access to Information, as well as the Regional Forum on Access to Public Information: Challenges to Freedom of Information in the Hemisphere, held in Lima, Peru, on January 20 and 21, 2004,
RESOLVES:
1. To reaffirm that everyone has the freedom to seek, receive, access, and impart information and that access to public information is a requisite for the very exercise of democracy.
2. To urge the states to respect and promote respect for everyone’s access to public information and to promote the adoption of any necessary legislative or other types of provisions to ensure its recognition and effective application.
3. To encourage member states, in keeping with the commitment made in the Declaration of Nuevo León and with due respect for constitutional and legal provisions, to prepare and/or adjust their respective legal and regulatory frameworks, as appropriate, so as to provide the citizenry with broad access to public information.
4. Also to encourage member states, when preparing and/or adjusting their respective legal and regulatory frameworks, as appropriate, to provide civil society the opportunity to participate in that process; and to urge them, when drafting and/or adapting their national legislation, to take into account clear and transparent exception criteria.
5. To encourage member states to take the necessary measures, through their national legislation and other appropriate means, to facilitate access to such information through electronic or any other means that will allow ready access to public information.
6. To instruct the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office for the Promotion of Democracy (OPD):
a. To support the efforts of member states that so request in drafting legislation and developing mechanisms in the area of access to public information and citizen participation; and
b. To assist the Permanent Council in the preparatory work for the special meeting mentioned in operative paragraph 11.a below.
7. To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee to continue to carry out comparative law studies on the protection of personal information.
8. To instruct the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression to continue to report on the situation regarding access to public information in the region in the annual report of the IACHR.
9. To instruct the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to conduct a study on how the state can guarantee all citizens the right to seek, receive, and impart public information on the basis of the principle of freedom of expression.
10. To instruct the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) to identify new resources to support member states’ efforts to facilitate access to public information.
11. To recommend to the Permanent Council that it:
a. Convene a special meeting with the participation of experts from the member states and civil society representatives to promote, impart, and exchange experiences and knowledge with respect to access to public information and its relationship with citizen participation;
b. Request the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP) to prepare, on the basis of the report of the special meeting and taking into account the report of the Chair of the Permanent Council on the implementation of resolution AG/RES. 2057 (XXXIV-O/04), a basic document on best practices and the development of common approaches or guidelines for increasing access to public information; and
c. Request the General Secretariat to promote seminars, workshops, or other events designed to promote access to public information by citizens and government administrations.
12. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2122 (XXXV-O/05)
PROGRAM FOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE AMERICAS
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING that the Charter of the Organization of American States recognizes that representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability, peace, and development of the region, and that one of the Organization’s essential purposes is to eradicate extreme poverty;
CONSIDERING that the Inter-American Democratic Charter reaffirmed the commitment of the governments of the Americas to the promotion and consolidation of democracy, and that democracy and economic and social development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the Heads of State and Government, meeting at the Special Summit of the Americas in January 2004, adopted the Declaration of Nuevo León, in which they reaffirmed that the well-being of their people requires the achievement of three closely linked and interdependent objectives: economic growth with equity to reduce poverty, social development, and democratic governance;
BEARING IN MIND the Declaration of Santiago on Democracy and Public Trust: A New Commitment to Good Governance for the Americas [AG/DEC. 31 (XXXIII-O/03)]; and
BEARING IN MIND that, in resolution AG/RES. 2045 (XXXIV-O/04), the Permanent Council was instructed to define the Program for Democratic Governance in the Americas, with support from the Office for the Promotion of Democracy and the Office of Education, Science, and Technology of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development,
RESOLVES:
1. To reiterate the commitment of the member states of the Organization to the full exercise and application in the Hemisphere of the democratic principles and values set forth in the Inter-American Democratic Charter and other relevant instruments, as well as to the search for mechanisms for their full development.
2. To reaffirm the contents of the Declaration of Nuevo León, especially in relation to democratic governance.
3. To adopt the “Program for Democratic Governance in the Americas” (CP/CISC-152/05 rev. 4); and to request the Permanent Council to instruct the Office for the Promotion of Democracy of the Department of Democratic and Political Affairs to further develop, in coordination with other areas of the General Secretariat, an annual work plan that includes measurable results and takes resource limitations into account, and to request the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization to take into consideration in their respective plans of action the activities contained in the Program.
4. To instruct the Permanent Council to seek, with support from the General Secretariat, the voluntary contributions neccesary for implementation of the above-mentioned work plan.
5. To request the Permanent Council to present a report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session.
AG/RES. 2125 (XXXV-O/05)
STUDY OF THE RIGHTS
AND THE CARE OF PERSONS UNDER
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the chapter on this topic in the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05 add. 3), as well as its resolutions AG/RES. 1897 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1927 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2037 (XXXIV-O/04);
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:
That in the inter-American system the OAS member states undertake to respect and protect the human rights of persons who have been deprived of freedom, including all applicable rights established in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and those established in all other human rights instruments to which they are parties;
That consultations with the member states on this subject have continued within the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs and that a number of them have replied to the questionnaire prepared for that purpose (CP/CAJP-1853/01 rev. 1);
The conclusions and recommendations of the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-IV), which include a proposal on the preparation of a document to protect the fundamental rights of detained persons (REMJA-IV/doc.24/02 rev. 2);
The conclusions and recommendations of the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-V), contained in its Final Report (REMJA-V/doc.9/04), and, in particular, the recommendation that the states promote “modernization of prison infrastructure and extend the functions of rehabilitation and social integration of the individual, by improving conditions of detention and studying new penitentiary standards”; and
The recommendations of the First Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies of the OAS member states (GAPECA/doc.04/03), held in Washington, D.C., on October 16 and 17, 2003; and
WELCOMING the strengthening by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Freedom, through the appointment of a Special Rapporteur,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge member states to comply, under all circumstances, with all applicable international obligations to respect the human rights of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment, including the rights established in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and those established in all other human rights instruments to which they are party.
2. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue studying the question of the rights and the care of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment, in cooperation with the competent organs and entities of the inter-American system and taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas, contained in the Final Report of that meeting (REMJA-V/doc.9/04), including the report of the First Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies of the OAS member states (GAPECA/doc.04/03).
3. To urge those member states that have not already done so to reply as soon as possible to the questionnaire entitled “Study of the Rights and the Care of Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment” (CP/CAJP-1853/01 rev. 1).
4. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to report on the situation of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment in the Hemisphere and to compile, using as a basis its work on the subject, the regional and global parameters for detention and imprisonment policies in the member states, making reference to any problems and good practices observed.
5. To congratulate and acknowledge those member states that have invited the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Freedom of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to visit their countries, including their detention centers; and to encourage all member states to facilitate such visits.
6. To call upon member states to consider allocating more funds to the IACHR to enable it to support the effective fulfillment of the mandate assigned to its Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Freedom.
7. To reiterate to the Permanent Council that, on the basis of the results of the discussions and studies conducted, including the inputs of the IACHR, it should consider the possibility of drafting an inter-American declaration on the rights and the care of persons under any form of detention or imprisonment, with a view to strengthening existing international standards on the matter. To that end, the topic should be considered in the context of the Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies that is to be held under a mandate of REMJA-V, and national human rights experts should participate in that meeting.
8. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2126 (XXXV-O/05)
PREVENTION OF RACISM AND ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AND
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05 add. 3), as well as resolutions AG/RES. 1712 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1774 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1905 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1930 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2038 (XXXIV-O/04);
REAFFIRMING the firm commitment of the Organization of American States to the eradication of racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance, and the conviction that discriminatory attitudes of this type are a negation of such universal values as the inalienable and inviolable rights of persons and of the purposes, principles, and guarantees provided for in the Charter of the Organization of American States, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the American Convention on Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
AWARE that the principles of equality and nondiscrimination recognized in Articles 3.l and 45.a of the Charter of the Organization of American States, in Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Article II of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, in Article 1 of the American Convention on Human Rights, and in Article 9 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter enshrine respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, without any distinction as to race, color, nationality, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or any other status;
DEEPLY DISTURBED by the general increase in different parts of the world of cases of intolerance of, and violence against, members of many religious communities, including those motivated by Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and Christianophobia;
RECOGNIZING the existence of groups of people who are victims of longstanding and contemporary manifestations of racism, discrimination, and intolerance;
RECALLING the Twenty-eighth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, held on January 24, 2005, which was convened at the request of, among others, 28 member states of the Organization of American States, and which marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the preamble to the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Regional Conference of the Americas, held in Santiago, Chile, in December 2000, to prepare for the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, recognizes that “in spite of the efforts made by States in the region, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance still persist in the Americas and continue to be causes of suffering, disadvantage and violence, as well as of other serious human rights violations, which must be fought by all available means as a matter of the highest priority”;
RECALLING the report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee on the preparation of a draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, contained in its annual report for 2001 (CP/doc.3545/02);
RECALLING ALSO the study “Judicial System and Racism against Persons of African Descent” (CP/doc.3845/04), prepared by the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) in response to the mandate issued in resolution AG/RES. 1930 (XXXIII-O/03);
NOTING WITH SATISFACTION the decision taken by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at its 122nd regular session to establish a Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and on Racial Discrimination; and
BEARING IN MIND that resolution AG/RES. 2038 (XXXIV-O/04) instructed the Permanent Council to continue to address, as a matter of priority, the subject of preventing, combating, and eradicating racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance,
RESOLVES:
1. To instruct the Permanent Council to establish a working group that will receive inputs from member state delegations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA), interested OAS organs, agencies, and entities, the United Nations, regional organizations, representatives of indigenous peoples, entrepreneurs, labor groups, and civil society organizations, with a view to the Working Group’s preparation of a Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance.
2. To request the JSCA to prepare, within the framework of its mandate and available resources, as a complement to the document “Judicial System and Racism against Persons of African Descent” (CP/doc.3845/04), studies on how the judicial systems of the Hemisphere treat indigenous people and migrants, which shall mention the diverse forms of discrimination that affect the countries of the Hemisphere, as addressed in the Declaration of the Regional Conference of the Americas, held in Santiago, with special attention paid to the following:
a. The manner in which the courts, through their practices and jurisprudence, recognize and apply international and domestic standards on human rights;
b. The presence of minorities and indigenous people as staff in the judicial branch and the public defender’s and public prosecutor’s offices of states;
c. Percentage indicators and analysis of the presence of indigenous people and migrants among the states’ prison populations;
d. Percentage indicators and analysis of the presence of indigenous people and migrants among all persons processed, prosecuted, and convicted by the states’ judicial systems;
b. Domestic norms for defending the rights of indigenous people and migrants;
c. The treatment given by the courts to documented and undocumented migrant workers when the latter are the accused or defendants in criminal proceedings, with special attention to possible differences in how the two groups are treated and in how the two together are treated in comparison with nationals of the respective state;
d. The treatment given by the courts to documented and undocumented migrants with regard to labor and social security matters; and
e. The availability of judicial resources to solve questions concerning migration status and their level of efficiency in doing so.
3. To request the JSCA to transmit such studies to the Permanent Council, to the working group referred to in operative paragraph 1 of this resolution, and to the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs.
4. To urge those member states that have not yet done so to respond to the request for information made by the IACHR on the respective national laws concerning the adoption of policies to promote equality or affirmative action.
5. To request the IACHR to present the conclusions of the study referred to in operative paragraph 3 of resolution AG/RES. 1930 (XXXIII-O/00), on the laws of the member states dealing with the adoption of policies to promote equality or affirmative action.
6. To request the IACHR to continue, within the framework of inter-American and international legal instruments currently in force, to pay due attention to the problems generated by manifestations of racism, discrimination, and intolerance in the Americas and to continue to intensify dialogue and cooperation with the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and report on that cooperation to the Permanent Council in due course.
7. To invite the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization, including the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), to prepare inputs on the prevention of racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance and on the preparation of a draft inter-American convention, for consideration by the Working Group.
8. To request the Permanent Council to instruct the Working Group to:
a. Continue to address, as a matter of priority, the subject of preventing, combating, and eradicating racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance; and
b. Convene a special meeting of the Working Group to examine and discuss the nature of a future Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance that aims to increase the level of protection afforded to human beings against acts of this type, with a view to reinforcing the international standards now in effect, and taking into account the forms and sources of racism, discrimination, and intolerance in the Hemisphere and those manifestations not addressed in existing instruments on the subject. The following would be invited to participate in the special meeting: government experts, representatives of specialized organizations of the inter-American system and other regional systems, members of the United Nations specialized agencies, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations.
9. To instruct the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources, and to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on its implementation.
AG/RES. 2127 (XXXV-O/05)
PROMOTION OF AND RESPECT FOR INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1270 (XXIV-O/94), AG/RES. 1335 (XXV-O/95), AG/RES. 1408 (XXVI-O/96), AG/RES. 1503 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1565 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 1619 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1706 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1770 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1771 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1900 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1904 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1944 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2052 (XXXIV-O/04);
RECALLING ALSO that, under the Charter of the Organization of American States, and in view of all applicable provisions of international humanitarian law and human rights law, human rights and fundamental freedoms must always be respected, even in situations of armed conflict;
DISMAYED by the persistent violations of international humanitarian law in the world;
DEEPLY CONCERNED about the suffering of all victims of armed conflict;
AWARE of the need to strengthen respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, by means of their acceptance, their dissemination, and the adoption of measures to ensure their application at the national level;
AWARE ALSO of the need for states to prevent impunity and to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other grave breaches of international humanitarian law;
RECALLING that it is the obligation of all states to respect and ensure respect, in all circumstances, for the 1949 Geneva Conventions and, for the states that are party thereto, the provisions contained in the 1977 Additional Protocols to those conventions, as well as the other provisions and general principles established in international humanitarian law;
UNDERSCORING that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects;
RECALLING that the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of genocide that the states parties thereto have committed to punishing;
ACKNOWLEDGING WITH SATISFACTION the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from November 29 to December 3, 2004;
Noting the observance of the 50th Anniversary of the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, in San Salvador from June 21 to 23, 2004;
EXPRESSING ITS SATISFACTION with the cooperation between the Organization of American States and the International Committee of the Red Cross with regard to promoting respect for international humanitarian law and the principles behind said law, one example of which was the joint organization of the Regional Meeting on Harmonizing National Criminal Law with International Humanitarian Law Treaties, held in Mexico City on December 7 and 8, 2004; and
EXPRESSING ITS SATISFACTION ALSO with the holding at the Organization’s headquarters, on April 1, 2005, of a “Working Meeting on Appropriate Measures That States Should Take to Cooperate with the International Criminal Court in the Investigation, Prosecution, and Punishment of the Perpetrators of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, Genocide, and Crimes against the Administration of Justice of the International Criminal Court,” and of a “Special Meeting of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs on the Promotion of and Respect for International Humanitarian Law,”
RESOLVES:
1. To urge the member states and all parties engaged in an armed conflict to honor their obligations under international humanitarian law, including those pertaining to protection of the civilian population and the treatment of prisoners of war.
2. To urge the member states of the Organization that have not yet done so to consider becoming party to the following treaties:
a. The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and its 1954 and 1999 Protocols, respectively;
b. The 1972 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction;
c. The 1977 Additional Protocols (I and II) to the 1949 Geneva Conventions; and to consider making the declaration contemplated in Article 90 of Additional Protocol I;
d. The 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, including the amendment to its Article I adopted in 2001 and its five Protocols;
e. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its 2000 Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict;
f. The 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction;
g. The 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction;
h. The 1997 Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA);
i. The 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; and
j. The 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel.
3. To urge member states to adopt the necessary legislative and administrative measures to implement any international humanitarian law instruments to which they are party, with particular attention to the following obligations, as applicable:
a. Suppression of war crimes pursuant to the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocol I, with regard to definition of the crimes, universal jurisdiction, and the responsibility of superiors, without any distinction as to international or internal armed conflicts;
b. Full cooperation with the International Criminal Court, in particular in the investigation and prosecution of crimes within its jurisdiction;
c. Regulation of the use of, and protection of, the red cross and red crescent emblems, and punishment for the misuse thereof, in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their two 1977 Additional Protocols;
d. Dissemination of the rules of international humanitarian law, in particular by their incorporation into military instruction programs;
e. Adoption of effective measures to prevent the disappearance of persons in cases of armed conflict or other situations of armed violence, determination of the fate of those who have disappeared, and attending to the needs of family members;
f. Protection of cultural property from the effects of armed conflict, including internal violence, by such means as the identification, registry, and marking of said property;
g. Prohibition of the recruitment of children under 18 years of age into the armed forces or armed groups, and of their participation in hostilities, in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict;
h. Prevention and suppression of any activity in which the states parties are prohibited from engaging under the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction, by persons or in territory under their jurisdiction or control; and
i. In the study, development, acquisition, or adoption of new weapons or new means or methods of warfare, to determine whether their use would be contrary to international humanitarian law, and, in that event, neither to adopt them for use by the armed forces nor to manufacture them for such purposes.
4. To urge member states to bring about the widest possible dissemination of the rules of international humanitarian law in particular by their incorporation into military doctrine and manuals, as well as among the entire civilian population.
5. To invite the states parties to the Rome Statute to define in their criminal legislation the crimes set forth in that treaty.
6. To call on all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all other forms of violence in situations of armed conflict.
7. To urge member states to continue to support the work of national committees or commissions responsible for the dissemination and implementation of international humanitarian law; and to urge states where such bodies do not exist to consider establishing them, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
8. To urge member states to consider adopting the appropriate measures, at the national level, to address the grave humanitarian consequences of the unregulated availability of arms, including the enactment of domestic laws aimed at strengthening control over the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms and other related materials, and to bear in mind the Programme of Action adopted at the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (New York, July 9-20, 2001).
9. To request the General Secretariat to continue to organize, through the Office of Inter-American Law and Programs of the Department of Legal Affairs and Services and in coordination with the ICRC, governmental conferences to disseminate, and to reinforce the implementation of, international humanitarian law and related inter-American conventions.
10. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue to organize, with support from the Office of Inter-American Law and Programs of the Department of Legal Affairs and Services, and in cooperation with the ICRC, special meetings on topical issues in the area of international humanitarian law.
12. To instruct the Permanent Council to present a report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session.
AG/RES. 2128 (XXXV-O/05)
OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE ANNUAL REPORT
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (AG/doc.4474/05); and
CONSIDERING:
That, in the Charter of the Organization of American States, the member states have proclaimed, as one of their principles, respect for the fundamental rights of the individual without distinction as to race, nationality, creed, or sex; and that, under the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights, the principal function of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is to promote the observance and protection of human rights; and
That in the Declaration of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, the Heads of State and Government stated that their “commitment to full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is based on shared principles and convictions” and that they supported “strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of the inter American human rights system, which includes the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights”;
THANKING the Government of Mexico for the invitation it extended to the IACHR to hold the special session that took place, with the participation of the Court, in Mexico from July 19 to 23, 2004, as a means of promoting the inter-American system of human rights; and
UNDERSCORING the initiative of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and Inter-American Institute of Human Rights to hold jointly, in San José, Costa Rica, during a session of the Court, the First Specialized Course for Government Officials on the Use of the Inter-American Human Rights System,
RESOLVES:
1. To adopt the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (AG/doc.4474/05) and to forward them to that organ.
2. To reaffirm the essential value of the work carried out by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to enhance the protection and promotion of human rights and the reinforcement of the rule of law in the Hemisphere.
3. To encourage member states to:
a. Consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be, all legal instruments of the inter-American human rights system;
b. Follow up on the recommendations of the IACHR, including, inter alia, precautionary measures; and
c. Continue to take appropriate action in connection with the annual reports of the IACHR, in the context of the Permanent Council and the General Assembly.
4. To note with satisfaction the decisions taken by the governments of member states to invite the IACHR to visit their respective countries and to encourage all member states to continue this practice.
5. To encourage member states to continue inviting the IACHR to hold special sessions away from its headquarters.
6. To request the IACHR to present for the information of member states a detailed report on the special session held, with the participation of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in Mexico from July 19 to 23, 2004.
7. To urge the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights to continue to hold specialized seminars for government officials on the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights.
8. To reiterate the importance of the application of the friendly settlement mechanism among parties concerned, in accordance with the American Convention on Human Rights and the Statute and Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
9. To take the following actions with regard to financing of the IACHR:
a. Instruct the Permanent Council to continue analyzing ways to achieve an effective and adequate increase in the financial resources allocated to the IACHR in the program-budget of the Organization. To that effect, request the Secretary General of the Organization to present, sufficiently in advance of the thirty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly, a proposal on alternative ways of achieving the effective and adequate increase in the financial resources allocated to the Commission in the program-budget of the Organization;
b. Invite member states to contribute to the Specific Fund for Strengthening the Inter-American System for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights;
c. Thank member states, permanent observers, and institutions that have made voluntary contributions to the IACHR; and
d. Suggest to donors that, to the extent possible, part of the voluntary contributions that they make not be earmarked for specific purposes, to give the Commission flexibility in allocating resources among its various activities and projects.
10. To invite the IACHR to:
a. Continue to take into account the observations and recommendations of the member states on its annual report and to adopt such measures as it considers pertinent based on such observations and recommendations;
b. Continue to publish on its Internet page, when member states so request, their observations and recommendations on its annual report to the General Assembly;
c. Continue to strengthen existing rapporteurships and operational units within the limits of its available resources, in accordance with Article 15 of its Rules of Procedure; and
d. Continue to participate, through the members of the Commission, in the dialogue with member states, in the context of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP), in light of the application of its new Rules of Procedure, especially to shed light on the criteria used when applying its principal mechanisms for the protection of human rights, such as precautionary measures, on-site visits, publication of reports, the friendly settlement procedure, the procedures followed by the IACHR in the review and initial processing of petitions, including the periods of time allowed to do so, inter alia, and to explain the role of the IACHR in proceedings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
11. To instruct the CAJP, with a view to implementing operative paragraph 10.d, to schedule meetings to continue its dialogue with the members of the IACHR.
12. To request the
Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth
regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be
carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the
Organization and other resource
AG/RES. 2129 (XXXV-O/05)
OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE
ANNUAL REPORT
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (AG/doc.4475/05);
CONSIDERING:
That in the Declaration of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, the Heads of State and Government stated that their “commitment to full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is based on shared principles and convictions” and that they supported “strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of the inter American human rights system, which includes the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights”;
That Article 54.f of the Charter of the Organization of American States establishes that it is a function of the General Assembly to consider the observations and recommendations presented by the Permanent Council on the reports of the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization, in accordance with Article 91.f of the Charter; and
That Article 65 of the American Convention on Human Rights establishes that “to each regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States the Court shall submit, for the Assembly’s consideration, a report on its work during the preceding year. It shall specify, in particular, the cases in which a state has not complied with its judgments, making any pertinent recommendations”;
TAKING NOTE of the most recent Advisory Opinion, OC-18/03, “Juridical Condition and Rights of the Undocumented Migrants,” issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on September 17, 2003;
EXPRESSING ITS APPRECIATION to the Government of Paraguay for its offer to host the special session of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held from May 9 to 13, 2005, as a means of promoting the inter-American human rights system; and
HIGHLIGHTING the initiative of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Inter-American Institute of Human Rights to hold jointly, in San José, Costa Rica, during a session of the Court, the First Specialized Course for Government Officials on the Use of the Inter-American Human Rights System,
RESOLVES:
1. To adopt the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (AG/doc.4475/05); and to transmit them to that organ.
2. To reaffirm the essential value of the work of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in enhancing the promotion and defense of human rights in the Hemisphere.
3. To reiterate that the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are final and may not be appealed and that the states parties to the American Convention on Human Rights undertake to comply with the decisions of the Court in all cases to which they are party.
4. To reiterate the need for states parties to provide, in a timely fashion, the information requested by the Court in order to enable it to fully meet its obligation to report to the General Assembly on compliance with its judgments.
5. To reaffirm the importance of:
a. The advisory function of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the development of inter-American jurisprudence and international human rights law and, in that context, to take note of Advisory Opinion OC-18/03; and
b. The jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the effective exercise of and respect for human rights in the Hemisphere; and consequently the dissemination of its decisions by the member states, as they deem it appropriate.
6. To instruct the Permanent Council to:
a. Continue its consideration of the issue of “Access of victims to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (jus standi) and its application in practice,” including its financial and budgetary implications, taking into account the report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights entitled “Bases for a Draft Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Strengthen Its Mechanism for Protection - Volume II”; the proposal presented by the Government of Costa Rica, “Draft Optional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights”; the revised Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and taking into account the need to maintain procedural equity and to redefine the role of the Commission in proceedings before the Court;
b. Continue to consider means of encouraging compliance by member states with the judgments of the Court; and
c. Continue to examine ways to bring about an effective and adequate increase in the financial resources allocated to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the program-budget of the Organization, which will take into account the suggestions made by the Court itself in its Annual Report for 2004, including, among other things, the possibility of increasing the number and the length of its sessions. To that effect, request the Secretary General of the Organization to present a proposal, sufficiently in advance of the thirty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly, with alternatives for bringing about an effective and adequate increase in the financial resources allocated to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the program-budget of the Organization.
7. In addition, to urge member states to contribute to the Specific Fund for Strengthening the Inter-American System for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. Also to thank member states, permanent observers, and institutions that have made voluntary contributions to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
8. To encourage member states to continue to invite the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to hold special sessions away from its headquarters.
9. To urge the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights to continue to hold specialized seminars for government officials on the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights.
10. To invite the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to continue to participate, with its judges, in the dialogue with member states in the reflection process on strengthening the inter-American human rights system, within the context of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs.
11. To urge member states to consider the signature and ratification of, ratification of, or accession to, as the case may be, the American Convention on Human Rights and other instruments of the system, including acceptance of the binding jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
12. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2130 (XXXV-O/05)
THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the report on this topic contained in the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.3476/05 add. 3);
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:
Its resolutions AG/RES. 1717 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1775 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1898 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1928 (XXXIII-O/03), and AG/RES. 2027 (XXXIV-O/04); and
The Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to the General Assembly (CP/doc.3984/05), especially the chapter on the situation of migrant workers and members of their families in the Hemisphere;
REAFFIRMING that the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man proclaims that all persons are equal before the law and have the rights and duties established therein, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor;
EMPHASIZING that the American Convention on Human Rights recognizes that the essential rights of the human individual are not derived from the fact that a person is a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of the human personality;
REAFFIRMING that the principles and standards set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the American Convention on Human Rights take on special importance with respect to protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families;
CONSIDERING:
That the Heads of State and Government, gathered at the Third Summit of the Americas, recognized the cultural and economic contributions made by migrants to receiving societies as well as to their communities of origin and committed to ensure dignified, humane treatment with applicable legal protections and to strengthen mechanisms for hemispheric cooperation to address their legitimate needs;
That in the Declaration of Nuevo León of the Special Summit of the Americas, the Heads of State and Government highlighted the importance of cooperation among countries of origin, countries of transit, and receiving countries to ensure full protection of the human rights of all migrants, including migrant workers and their families, the defense of human rights, and safe and healthy labor conditions for migrants, and to adopt effective measures against trafficking in persons;
That practically all countries are countries of origin, countries of transit, and receiving countries for migrants and have the authority to regulate the immigration of persons into their territories, in accordance with international law, including international human rights law;
The migrant programs adopted by some countries, which permit the integration of migrants into the receiving countries, facilitate family reunification, and promote a climate of harmony, tolerance, and respect;
The positive contributions often made by migrants, both to their countries of origin and to the receiving countries, including their gradual incorporation into the receiving societies, and the efforts made by some receiving countries to integrate migrants;
The entry into force of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, on July 1, 2003; the installation and initiation of work of the United Nations Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; and the entry into force of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, on January 28, 2004;
Advisory Opinion OC-16/99, “The Right to Information on Consular Assistance in the Framework of the Guarantees of the Due Process of Law,” issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on October 1, 1999;
Advisory Opinion OC-18/03, “Juridical Condition and Rights of the Undocumented Migrants,” issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on September 17, 2003; and
The judgment issued by the International Court of Justice on March 31, 2004, in the case Avena and Other Mexican Nationals;
BEARING IN MIND:
That, in the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development 2002-2005 of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), support for vulnerable groups such as migrant workers was identified as a priority in the implementation of policies and programs to facilitate access to the labor market and to improve working conditions; and
That the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas provided for the establishment of an inter-American program within the OAS for the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants, including migrant workers and their families, taking into account the activities of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and supporting the work of the IACHR Special Rapporteur on Migrant Workers and Their Families and of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights;
EXPRESSING its satisfaction at the establishment of the Working Group of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs to Prepare an Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, whose work culminated in the preparation of the Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, Including Migrant Workers and Their Families;
NOTING the special meeting of the Working Group to Prepare an Inter-American Program, in which government experts from the member states participated, as well as representatives of organs and agencies of the United Nations, organs of the inter-American human rights system, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), intergovernmental organizations, the Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen, and civil society organizations, among others;
NOTING ALSO the broad participation of OAS member states, at the International Labour Conference, in June 2004, in the consideration of its agenda item “Migrant workers (general discussion based on an integrated approach)”;
CONCERNED over the extremely vulnerable situation in which many migrant workers and their families find themselves and over the persistent obstacles that prevent them from fully exercising their human rights;
BEARING IN MIND that migrants are often victims of crimes, mistreatment, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia, and that women migrants who are unaccompanied or heads of household are especially vulnerable to gender-based violence and other forms of sexual and labor exploitation, which calls for broad cooperation to address these situations; and
BEARING IN MIND ALSO that all migrants and their advocates have a duty and obligation to obey all laws of sending, transit, and receiving countries,
RESOLVES:
1. To vehemently condemn manifestations or acts of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related forms of intolerance against migrants, as well as all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related forms of intolerance with respect to access to employment, professional training, housing, instruction, health services, social services, and services to the public.
2. To reaffirm the duty of states parties to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to comply with that Convention, including the right to communication between consular officers and their nationals in cases of detention and the obligation of the states parties in whose territory the detention occurs to inform the foreign national of that right; and, in that connection, to call the attention of states to Advisory Opinion OC-16/99 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and to the ruling of the International Court of Justice of March 31, 2004, in the case Avena and Other Mexican Nationals, on the obligation to comply with Article 36 of the Vienna Convention.
3. To call the attention of the states to Advisory Opinion OC-18/03 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which holds that “the migratory status of a person cannot constitute a justification to deprive him of the enjoyment and exercise of human rights, including those of a labor-related nature.”
4. To encourage member states to consider the adoption of programs aimed at integrating migrants into their societies, in order to promote a climate of harmony, tolerance, and respect.
5. To encourage dialogue and cooperation among member states so as to improve their migration policies and practices with a view to providing adequate protection to all migrants, migrant workers, and their families.
6. To urge member states to consider the signature and ratification of, ratification of, or accession to the inter-American human rights instruments, as the case may be, and to take the necessary measures to guarantee the human rights of all migrants, including migrant workers and their families.
7. To welcome the entry into force of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; and, accordingly, to urge member states to consider, as appropriate, signing and ratifying that instrument.
8. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue supporting the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in this area and to take into account the efforts of other international organizations on behalf of migrant workers and their families, with a view to helping to improve their situation in the Hemisphere and, in particular and where applicable, the efforts of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and those of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
9. To instruct the relevant organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization to support the execution of and, when appropriate, to implement the Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, Including Migrant Workers and Their Families.
10. To request the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) to strengthen communication and coordination with the IACHR, the IOM, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and other pertinent organizations, agencies, and entities and, in that context, to follow up in particular on IACD partnership-for-development activities, under the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development 2002-2005, related to the situation of migrant workers and members of their families.
11. To entrust the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with:
a. Considering the advisability of participating in joint cooperation projects conducted by the IACD in this area;
b. Providing its Special Rapporteurship on Migrant Workers and Their Families with the necessary and appropriate means to perform its duties, within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources; and
c. Presenting to the Permanent Council a report on the status of the rights of migrant workers and their families prior to the thirty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly.
12. To invite the member states; permanent observers; organs, agencies, and entities of the inter-American system; and others to contribute to the Voluntary Fund of the Special Rapporteurship on Migrant Workers and Their Families of the IACHR.
13. To urge member states to consider inviting the Special Rapporteur on Migrant Workers and Their Families to visit their countries to enable said Rapporteur to perform his or her functions effectively.
14. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2132 (XXXV-O/05)
STRENGTHENING OF THE
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEMS OF THE
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
AFFIRMING that in the Charter of the Organization of American States the member states proclaimed the fundamental rights of the individual without distinction as to race, nationality, creed, or sex;
AFFIRMING ALSO that the member states, whether in their national constitutions or under their domestic law, have recognized the universal, indivisible, and interdependent nature of human rights and the obligation to respect and protect the rights and fundamental freedoms of human beings;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the fundamental objective of national systems for the promotion and protection of human rights is to safeguard the rights of the individual;
BEARING IN MIND the Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions, “Paris Principles,” adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 48/134, of December 20, 1993;
REAFFIRMING the importance of the inter-American human rights system, whose organs have competence to promote the observance of human rights in all member states of the Organization, in accordance with the commitments undertaken by each state, and which operate in a manner subsidiary to national jurisdictional systems, on the basis of the exhaustion of domestic remedies;
RECALLING resolutions AG/RES. 1505 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1601 (XXVIII-O/98), and AG/RES. 1670 (XXIX-O/99), in which the General Assembly recognized the work of ombudsmen in the Hemisphere, a concept recognized in the law of member states with names such as defenders of the people, defenders of the population, human rights attorneys, and human rights commissioners, and also renewed its support for the activities of the Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen, the latest Annual Congress of which was held in Quito, Ecuador, in November 2004, with OAS participation;
UNDERSCORING EQUALLY the work done by the Caribbean Ombudsmen’s Association, the Network of National Human Rights Institutions of the Americas, the Andean Council of Ombudsmen, and the Central American Ombudsman Council;
RECALLING ALSO the exhortation contained in the aforementioned resolutions that member states of the inter-American system adopt measures to ensure that the defenders of the people, defenders of the population, human rights attorneys, and human rights commissions enjoy political, administrative, and financial independence; and
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, Canada, as it pertains to strengthening the capacity of national institutions responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights,
RESOLVES:
1. To reaffirm the fundamental importance of national human rights systems for the promotion and protection of human rights and strengthening the rule of law and social justice for the consolidation of democracy.
2. To reiterate its support for the politically, administratively, and financially independent work of the ombudsmen or defenders of the people, defenders of the population, human rights attorneys, and human rights commissioners in the countries of the Hemisphere, in the promotion and protection of human rights.
3. To recommend to member states that do not yet have institutions of the kind to which this resolution refers that they consider the possibility of establishing and operating them within the framework of their legal order.
4. To encourage the governments and organs of the inter-American system to promote the establishment of forums for dialogue between institutions of the kind to which this resolution refers and the pertinent organs of the inter-American system, in order to strengthen their contribution to the democratic order in the Hemisphere.
5. To renew OAS support for the work of the Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen, the Caribbean Ombudsmen’s Association, the Network of National Human Rights Institutions of the Americas, the Andean Council of Ombudsmen, and the Central American Ombudsman Council, and to suggest to the member states involved that they consider the study of their conclusions and recommendations.
6. To recommend to the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the Permanent Council that it consider inviting the institutions of the kind to which this resolution refers to participate in the dialogue to be conducted among the member states on human rights topics, for the reason that their presence is necessary.
7. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated to the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2138 (XXXV-O/05)
FOURTH BIENNIAL REPORT ON FULFILLMENT OF
RESOLUTION
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:
That the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará,” adopted in 1994, identified violence against women as a violation of their human rights and its elimination as essential for their individual and social development and their full and equal participation in all walks of life;
That, to date, 31 member states have ratified the Convention of Belém do Pará, thereby expressing their absolute rejection of and concern over any act of violence against women and demonstrating their commitment to the fulfillment of the Convention’s objectives and of the obligations they have assumed;
That, pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1456 (XXVII-O/97), the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) has submitted to the General Assembly four biennial reports on progress made in the implementation of the Convention as well as on experiences and results achieved through the initiatives and programs pursued in the member states to combat violence against women;
That these reports indicate that, despite efforts to implement the objectives of the Convention of Belém do Pará, violence persists and is of such magnitude that it is imperative to continue to implement, on an ongoing basis, strategies allowing women to live free from violence;
That the Plans of Action of the Summits of the Americas, the Strategic Plan of Action of the CIM, and the Inter-American Program for the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality have considered violence against women as an area for priority attention;
That resolution AG/RES. 1942 (XXXIII-O/03) on the Third Biennial Report emphasized the need to adopt the most appropriate and effective way to follow up on the Convention of Belém do Pará, and resolution AG/RES. 2012 (XXXIV-O/04) on violence against women states that a mechanism that allows for monitoring and analyzing the manner in which progress is being made, and for facilitating cooperation among the states parties and with the member states, will contribute to the achievement of the Convention’s objectives;
That the Second Meeting of Ministers or of the Highest-Ranking Authorities Responsible for the Advancement of Women in the member states, held in April 2004, adopted resolution CIM/REMIM-II/RES. 6/04, whereby it urged member states to continue supporting the efforts of the CIM in the process of creating and implementing a mechanism for follow-up on implementation of the Convention, and to continue working collaboratively to prevent, punish, and eradicate all forms of violence against women, in both the public and private spheres; and
UNDERSCORING:
That, pursuant to the mandates set forth in resolution CIM/RES. 224 (XXI-O/02) and resolution AG/RES. 2012 (XXXIV-O/04), a meeting of experts of the member states was held at OAS headquarters on July 20 and 21, 2004, which agreed on recommendations on how best to follow up on the Convention of Belém do Pará;
That, on the basis of those recommendations, on October 26, 2004, the First Conference of States Parties to the Convention was held, with the participation of the states not party and the collaboration of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Department of Legal Affairs and Services of the General Secretariat, which adopted the Statute of the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará” (MESECVI);
That the Thirty-second Assembly of Delegates of the CIM adopted a declaration expressing its commitment to the earliest possible implementation of the Mechanism, to enable the objectives of the Convention of Belém do Pará to be achieved and the women of the region to exercise their right to live free from violence, and encouraging all states parties and states not party to the Convention, permanent observers, international financial institutions, and civil society organizations to contribute to the OAS specific fund established for that purpose; and
That said meeting also adopted resolution CIM/RES. 229 (XXXII-O/04), “Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, ‘Convention of Belém do Pará,’” in which it expressed its satisfaction at the approval of the Statute of the MESECVI and decided to present it to the General Assembly at this session,
RESOLVES:
1. To take note of the Fourth Biennial Report of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) on fulfillment of resolution AG/RES. 1456 (XXVII-O/97); and to request the Commission to continue presenting these reports.
2. To welcome the adoption of the Statute of the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará” (MESECVI); and to invite all states parties and states not party to the Convention, permanent observers, international financial institutions, and civil society organizations to contribute to the OAS specific fund established for that purpose.
3. To express appreciation to the Permanent Secretariat of the CIM for the work done during the process of adoption of the Statute of the MESECVI; and to urge the Permanent Secretariat to continue to fulfill the important role of secretariat to the mechanism with a view to its effective implementation.
4. To congratulate the member states for their efforts to effectively meet the objectives of the Convention, including the adoption the Statute of the MESECVI, in keeping with the priorities set in the Plans of Action of the Summits of the Americas, the Strategic Plan of Action of the CIM, and the Inter-American Program for the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality.
5. To urge member states to continue to move forward, with support from the CIM, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and other areas of the General Secretariat, with the implementation of the MESECVI, and to take concrete steps to ensure the effective enforcement of national legislation, in conformity with ratified regional and international conventions on the elimination of discrimination and violence against women, in particular the Convention of Belém do Pará, as well as coordinated action to ensure a culture of respect for human rights.
6. To encourage those member states that have not yet done so to ratify regional human rights instruments, in particular the Convention of Belém do Pará, as a further sign of their commitment to, respect for, and promotion, advancement, and protection of women’s human rights.
7. To urge member states to allocate more human and financial resources in their national and regional budgets to help victims of violence and to prevent, punish, and eradicate all forms of violence against women.
8. To urge the Secretary General to allocate more human, technical, and financial resources to enable the CIM to continue supporting the efforts of the member states regarding the full implementation of the Convention of Belém do Pará, as well as other initiatives geared toward the elimination of violence against women.
9. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of the MESECVI.
AG/RES. 2140 (XXXV-O/05)
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1971 (XXXIII-O/03), “The Protection of Refugees, Returnees, and Stateless and Internally Displaced Persons in the Americas”; AG/RES. 774 (XV-O/85); AG/RES. 838 (XVI-O/86); AG/RES. 951 (XVIII-O/88); AG/RES. 1021 (XIX-O/89); AG/RES. 1039 (XX-O/90); AG/RES. 1040 (XX-O/90); AG/RES. 1103 (XXI-O/91); AG/RES. 1170 (XXII-O/92); AG/RES. 1214 (XXIII-O/93); AG/RES. 1273 (XXIV-O/94); AG/RES. 1336 (XXV-O/95); AG/RES. 1416 (XXVI-O/96); AG/RES. 1504 (XXVII-O/97); AG/RES. 1602 (XXVIII-O/98); AG/RES. 1892 (XXXII-O/02); and in particular AG/RES. 2055 (XXXIV-O/04), “Internally Displaced Persons”;
REITERATING the principles established in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, especially those referred to in its Chapter III, “Democracy, Integral Development, and Combating Poverty”;
RECALLING the pertinent international norms on human rights, humanitarian law, and refugee law; and recognizing that the protection of internally displaced persons has been reinforced by the identification, reaffirmation, and consolidation of specific protective standards, in particular the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, prepared by the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons;
RECALLING ALSO that, according to those guiding principles, internally displaced persons are “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border”;
EMPHASIZING that the states have the primary responsibility to provide protection and assistance to internally displaced persons within their jurisdiction, as well as to address, as appropriate, the causes of the internal displacement problem and to do so, when so required, in cooperation with the international community;
NOTING that several countries in the Hemisphere are using the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and including them in the development of national policies and strategies;
UNDERSCORING the holding of the Regional Seminar on Internal Displacement in the Americas, in Mexico City in February 2004, which made it possible to evaluate and identify possible solutions to the problem of internal displacement in the region;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the problem of internally displaced persons is of significant proportions and that their needs, particularly with regard to protection and assistance, require immediate attention;
EMPHASIZING the importance of implementing effective policies for preventing and averting forced internal displacement and for protecting and assisting displaced persons during displacement and during return or resettlement, and reintegration;
UNDERSCORING that to promote enhanced protection for internally displaced persons, comprehensive strategies and lasting solutions are needed, which include, among other aspects, the safe and voluntary return of internally displaced persons, promotion and protection of their human rights, and their resettlement and reintegration, either in their place of origin or in the receiving community; and
REAFFIRMING the importance of international cooperation, both from governments and from civil society institutions and organizations, in addressing fully and effectively the needs of internally displaced persons,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge member states to include, as appropriate, in their sectoral plans and programs the special needs of internally displaced persons.
2. To appeal to member states to consider the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, prepared by the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, in designing public policy on this matter.
3. To encourage member states to address the diverse causes of the internal displacement of persons in order to prevent it from occurring and to bear in mind that dialogue is essential to the achievement of lasting solutions.
4. To urge member states, in keeping with their responsibility to displaced persons, to lend them assistance and protection, based on comprehensive strategies, through competent national institutions during displacement, return or resettlement, and reintegration.
5. To appeal to appropriate United Nations agencies, other humanitarian organizations, and the international community to provide the support or assistance requested by states, in order to address the various causes that give rise to internal displacement and the persons affected by it, at every stage.
6. To instruct the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution as it deems appropriate.
AG/RES. 2141 (XXXV-O/05)
INTER-AMERICAN PROGRAM FOR THE PROMOTION
AND PROTECTION
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN:
The Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4376/05); and
The Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to the General Assembly, in particular the chapter on the Sixth Progress Report of the Special Rapporteurship on Migrant Workers and Their Families (CP/doc.3984/05);
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1928 (XXXIII-O/03) and AG/RES. 2027 (XXXIV-O/04); and
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:
The Plan of Action of the First Summit of the Americas, adopted in December 1994 in Miami, Florida, United States of America; the Declaration of the Second Summit of the Americas, held in Santiago, Chile, in April 1998; and, more particularly, the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, adopted in Quebec City, Canada, in April 2001, in which the Heads of State and Government stated that they would “[e]stablish an inter-American program within the OAS for the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants, including migrant workers and their families, taking into account the activities of the IACHR and supporting the work of the IACHR Special Rapporteur on Migrant Workers and the UN Special Rapporteur on Migration”; and
That in the Declaration of Nuevo León, the Heads of State and Government, gathered in Monterrey, Mexico, in January 2004, for the Special Summit of the Americas, underscored “the importance of cooperation between countries of origin, transit, and destination to ensure the full protection of the human rights of all migrants, including migratory workers and their families”;
EXPRESSING ITS SATISFACTION with the establishment, in January 2004, within the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the Permanent Council, of the Working Group to Prepare an Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, starting from the draft presented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the proposals of member states, specialized organizations, and other bodies;
BEARING IN MIND the holding, in September 2004, of the Special Meeting of the Working Group to Prepare an Inter-American Program, with the broad participation of government experts and representatives of the Organization’s organs, agencies, and entities; multilateral and intergovernmental organizations; and civil society organizations; and
CONSIDERING the Draft Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, Including Migrant Workers and Their Families (CAJP/GT/TM-24/05 rev. 7), prepared by the Working Group of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs,
RESOLVES:
1. To adopt the Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, Including Migrant Workers and Their Families, which is appended to this resolution.
2. To convene, as established in the Inter-American Program, a meeting of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs in the first half of 2006, with the participation of government experts and representatives of the organs, agencies, and entities of the inter-American system, other international organizations, and civil society, for the purpose of sharing best practices and activities carried out last year in support of the Program, as well as new proposals that might be incorporated into it.
3. To instruct the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to continue to provide its support, through the Special Rapporteurship on Migrant Workers and Their Families, to the Inter-American Program adopted herein.
4. To request the relevant organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization to include, in their annual reports to the General Assembly, their actions aimed at implementing the activities set out in the Program.
5. To instruct the Permanent Council to constitute a specific fund composed of voluntary contributions, called the “Fund for the Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, including Migrant Workers and Their Families,” to contribute to funding of the activities assigned to the organs, agencies and entities of the OAS in support of this Program; and to urge member states, permanent observers, regional organizations, international organizations, and civil society organizations to contribute to the Fund.
6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2144 (XXXV-O/05)
PROMOTION OF HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION IN DEALING WITH GANGS
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the findings of studies by different international organizations and some member states on the issue of gangs, which conclude that it is a very complex matter and should be addressed from a holistic viewpoint, including, inter alia, prevention, social support, respect for and protection of human rights, and national law enforcement;
ACKNOWLEDGING that gangs are a problem experienced primarily by the countries of Central America and North America and call for in-depth analysis, as they represent a challenge that requires, first of all, recognition of the advisability and urgency of becoming more knowledgeable about the needs of their members; and
NOTING:
The General Secretariat’s initiative to hold, in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, on June 16 and 17, 2005, the Meeting on Transnational Criminal Youth Gangs: Characteristics, Importance and Public Policies, and their relationship with the drug problem in the context of transnational organized crime; and
The initiative of El Salvador to hold, in San Salvador, El Salvador, from June 28 to 30, 2005, the First Regional Forum on Social Prevention of Violence and the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of At-Risk Youth and Youth Offenders,” in order to help find a solution to this problem, from a social and human perspective,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge member states to hold seminars and workshops to exchange experiences at the regional, subregional, and national levels on the diverse aspects of gang formation and its prevention.
2. To urge the General Secretariat and the appropriate OAS bodies to support efforts to address this issue in the inter-American arena.
3. To urge the General Secretariat to disseminate any reports that emerge from the special meeting that, within the framework of the OAS, will be held on this subject in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, and to provide appropriate follow-up to them.
4. Also to urge the General Secretariat to disseminate any reports that emerge from the aforementioned First Regional Forum on Social Prevention of Violence and the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of At-Risk Youth and Youth Offenders.
5. To instruct the General Secretariat to consolidate the results of the various studies conducted in the Hemisphere on this topic.
6. To instruct the Permanent Council and the General Secretariat to carry out, as appropriate, the activities mentioned in this resolution in accordance with the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
7. To instruct the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution and to present a report on its implementation to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session.
AG/RES. 2147 (XXXV-O/05)
STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY IN HAITI
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECOGNIZING that one of the essential purposes of the Organization of American States is to promote and consolidate representative democracy and respect for democratic institutions, with due regard for the principle of nonintervention, as stated in its Charter;
REAFFIRMING the principles contained in the Inter-American Democratic Charter and in particular the principle that the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it;
RECALLING the resolutions of the Permanent Council and its own resolutions on the situation in Haiti, in particular resolution AG/RES. 2058 (XXXIV-O/04), which requested “the OAS Special Mission for Strengthening Democracy in Haiti … to assist the Provisional Electoral Council in preparing, organizing, and overseeing the elections and the proclamation of results, in cooperation with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)” and called on “all sectors of Haitian society to undertake all necessary initiatives to achieve these objectives” of promoting “full and lasting democracy and the strengthening of democratic institutions with guarantees for citizens and respect for fundamental freedoms”;
RECALLING ALSO the reports submitted by the Acting Secretary General to the Permanent Council on developments in the situation in Haiti;
NOTING the preparations made for the holding of elections on October 9, November 13, and December 18, 2005, but also the concerns expressed by several member states that preparations need to be accelerated to ensure timely elections;
EXPRESSING its support for the process of dialogue launched by the transitional Government of Haiti on April 7, 2005;
EXPRESSING ALSO its support for the work carried out by the OAS Special Mission for Strengthening Democracy in Haiti;
NOTING:
The mission undertaken to Haiti in April 2005 by the United Nations Security Council in conjunction with the Ad Hoc Advisory Group of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations to assess the situation in Haiti and to foster normalization;
The visit made to Haiti in September 2004 by a delegation of representatives of member states of the Permanent Council, and the on-site visit made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in April 2005 to assess the human rights situation in Haiti; and
The International Donors Conference on Haiti, held at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., in March 2004, as well as the Ministerial Meeting on Aid for the Reconstruction of Haiti, held in Cayenne, French Guiana, in March 2005, and the Montreal International Conference on Haiti, scheduled to be held in Montreal, Canada, on June 16 and 17, 2005;
SEEKING to restore security in Haiti and to promote the socioeconomic recovery of the Haitian people in a peaceful and stable political environment;
RECALLING that security, political reconciliation, and economic reconstruction efforts remain key to the stability of Haiti; and
NOTING:
The concerns about the situation of the Haitian justice and correctional systems, including prolonged pretrial detentions and the need to strengthen due process; and
The grave challenges faced by the Haitian National Police in effectively confronting armed gangs while protecting the constitutional and human rights of all Haitians,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge the transitional Government of Haiti, in conjunction with Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) and with support from the OAS Special Mission for Strengthening Democracy in Haiti and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), to take all necessary steps as quickly as possible to ensure the holding of inclusive, free, fair, transparent, and democratic elections on October 9 and November 13, 2005, and, if required, on December 18, 2005.
2. To encourage, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the OAS and the United Nations of November 2004, the pursuit of initiatives and activities aimed at creating a secure and stable climate conducive to the electoral process.
3. To urge the transitional Government of Haiti, in order to facilitate the electoral process, to provide all required support for the OAS Special Mission and to put at the disposal of the CEP all necessary resources, such as the use of public buildings and the radio spectrum, and to expeditiously issue customs permits, to accelerate the voter registration process.
4. To urge all Haitians to register to vote and to participate in the upcoming elections.
5. To instruct the General Secretariat to adopt all measures necessary for monitoring and observing the elections, if so requested.
6. To invite the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other members of the international community to lend their support to the electoral process.
7. To encourage the professionalization of the Haitian National Police, including the vetting and certification of new and existing officers, with the assistance of the international community.
8. To underscore the importance of the transitional Government’s efforts to deter violence and deal firmly with illegal armed groups and the problems they pose, with full respect for the constitutional and human rights of all Haitians, in order to restore security and public order; and to recognize the need for increased capacity of the Haitian National Police in this regard.
9. To recognize the transitional Government’s efforts to promote the processes of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former members of the Haitian armed forces and illegal armed groups, as an essential component for promoting peace and reconciliation in Haiti; and to reiterate the need for strengthening those efforts.
10. To urge member states, the international community, and regional organizations to assist the transitional Government of Haiti in addressing the serious threat posed by the proliferation of and illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons in its territory.
11. To commend and urge the transitional Government to move forward expeditiously with the National Dialogue Initiative to promote harmonious coexistence, peace, and national reconciliation.
12. To reaffirm support for the OAS Special Mission and its activities, and the need to continue working in support of elections, the strengthening of democratic institutions, and the protection of human rights.
13. To urge the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to continue to monitor and report on the human rights situation in Haiti and to work with the OAS Special Mission on the promotion and observance of those rights.
14. To urge all sectors in Haiti, without exception, to support and participate actively in the National Dialogue in order to rebuild and ensure the proper functioning of democratic institutions.
15. To reiterate its support for MINUSTAH and to request the Secretary General to invite the United Nations to maintain its support for the Haitian people, particularly during the critical electoral process and subsequent political transition.
16. To urge the transitional Government of Haiti to adopt all necessary measures to reform the judicial sector, including by urgently accelerating judicial proceedings to ensure that the constitutional rights of detained persons are respected and to reduce, in accordance with due process, the high number of prisoners awaiting trial, including all members of the former government in that situation.
17. To encourage the transitional Government of Haiti to strengthen the judicial system to attain an equitable distribution of justice in accordance with Haitian law, including by increased cooperation between Haitian judicial authorities and international experts.
18. To urge the transitional Government of Haiti to adopt all measures necessary for combating impunity, observing and protecting human rights, and restoring the rule of law, in order to further promote confidence within Haitian society.
19. To express its solidarity with the Haitian people by supporting institutional development in Haiti, together with economic and social development; and to call on the international community to follow through on their commitment to strengthen democracy in Haiti by supporting economic and social programs, in order to alleviate poverty and promote economic development.
20. To instruct the Secretary General to report quarterly on the situation in Haiti to the Permanent Council, which shall, on a regular basis, review the mandates of the OAS Special Mission and take all steps it deems necessary for its optimal functioning.
21. To request the Secretary General to transmit this resolution to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
AG/RES. 2148 (XXXV-O/05) COMBATING THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND SMUGGLING OF AND TRAFFICKING IN CHILDREN IN THE HEMISPHERE
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
CONSIDERING the importance of ensuring comprehensive and effective protection of children through appropriate mechanisms that guarantee respect for their rights;
RECOGNIZING that commercial sexual exploitation today, including the circulation of child pornography through the Internet and other media, and the smuggling of and trafficking in children are of concern both regionally and worldwide, and that this problem jeopardizes the rights of children, enshrined in a number of international instruments;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; the American Convention on Human Rights, Article 19 of which establishes that “[e]very minor child has the right to the measures of protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family, society, and the state”; and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, in which the states parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Article 34);
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALSO other international instruments relating to the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere, among them the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (adopted in 2000); the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (adopted in 1980); the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors (adopted in 1994); the Inter-American Convention on the International Return of Children (adopted in 1989); the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention); and International Labour Organization Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour;
BEARING IN MIND the efforts on the matter already under way in various organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization and in other forums, in particular the consideration of this matter by the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI) in 2000, the conclusion of which was that it was necessary to have as much information as possible before considering the need for an inter-American convention to fight sexual crimes against children beyond national borders; the coordination strategy which is being developed by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) on trafficking in women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation in the Americas; and the subregional workshops organized by the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) on trafficking in children for purposes of sexual exploitation and child pornography; and
RECOGNIZING that ensuring success in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere calls for a global approach in which all factors contributing to the problem may be addressed and for measures to facilitate international cooperation, both legal and judicial, to ensure effective protection of the rights of children,
RESOLVES:
1. To reaffirm that the principles and standards set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the American Convention on Human Rights take on special importance with respect to protection of the rights of children.
2. To urge member states to consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be, the international instruments relating to the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere, among them the Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted in 1989); the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (adopted in 2000); the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (adopted in 1980); the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors (adopted in 1994); and the Inter-American Convention on the International Return of Children (adopted in 1989); and to urge states parties to take the necessary measures to guarantee the rights contained in those instruments.
3. To request the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), in coordination with the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) and in the context of the draft it is preparing on the smuggling of and trafficking in women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation in the Americas, to present to the Permanent Council, before December 31, 2005, for its consideration, a study on trafficking in children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation in the Hemisphere.
4. To acknowledge with appreciation the work of the IIN and the contributions by member states in connection with the preparation of the report on trafficking in persons presented to the Permanent Council during the first quarter of 2005.
5. To request the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) to present to the Permanent Council (Special Committee on Transnational Organized Crime), before December 31, 2005, for its consideration, a report, to the extent that funding is available, on the present capacity of judicial systems in the member states to deal with the problems of commercial sexual exploitation of, smuggling of, and trafficking in, children in the Hemisphere and on their enforcement of domestic and international law.
6. To instruct the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to consider Advisory Opinion OC-17/2002, “Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child,” issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on August 28, 2002, with a view to preparing a study on the implications of the conclusions of that Advisory Opinion for the inter-American system for the protection and promotion of human rights.
7. To request the CIM, the IIN, the JSCA, and the IACHR to cooperate in the preparation of these studies.
8. To instruct the Permanent Council to convene a special meeting of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP), during 2005, to consider the documents presented by the CIM, the IIN, the JSCA, and the IACHR and to recommend future measures to be taken in this regard, taking into account the results of the meeting of high authorities on trafficking in persons, in order to address the topic from a comprehensive and all-inclusive perspective within the framework of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention), and to invite relevant organizations working in these areas, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and others, to attend the special meeting of the CAJP.
9. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
AG/RES. 2154 (XXXV-O/05)
PROMOTION OF REGIONAL COOPERATION FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
CONSIDERING:
That the Charter of the Organization of American States establishes the importance of the promotion and consolidation of representative democracy with due respect for the principle of nonintervention;
That the Inter-American Democratic Charter declares that the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it, and that democracy is essential for the social, political, and economic development of the peoples of the Americas; and
That representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability, peace, and development of the region;
RECALLING that democracy, social inclusion, social mobility, and economic development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing;
REAFFIRMING that multilateral cooperation plays an important part in support of national efforts to promote good governance and democratic principles and facilitates dialogue in the political, economic, social, and cultural spheres;
RECOGNIZING that representative democracy is reinforced and deepened by the continuous, ethical, and responsible participation of citizens in a framework of legality consistent with the corresponding constitutional order;
RECOGNIZING ALSO the importance of participation by civil society organizations;
AWARE that the peoples of the Hemisphere are entitled to fundamental freedoms, human rights, respect for the dignity and worth of the human person, equal rights for men and women, and the promotion of social justice and better living standards;
AWARE ALSO of the need to provide the Organization with procedures that facilitate cooperation in complying with the standards and principles contained in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, so that it may contribute effectively to the preservation and consolidation of democracy in the countries of the Hemisphere;
ACKNOWLEDGING that the effective implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter is an ongoing objective of the peoples and governments of the Americas;
RECALLING that the promotion and observance of economic, social, and cultural rights are inherently linked to integral development, equitable economic growth, and the consolidation of democracy in the states of the Hemisphere; and
RECALLING ALSO the work of other regional and subregional institutions and the need to coordinate with them,
RESOLVES:
1. To entrust the Secretary General with presenting to the Permanent Council, in the near future, a report for its consideration and analysis that describes the manner in which the Inter-American Democratic Charter has been implemented since its entry into force in 2001.
2. To instruct the Secretary General, after engaging in consultations with the Permanent Council, and taking into account the purposes and principles of the OAS Charter, in particular that of promoting and consolidating representative democracy, to devise proposals for timely, effective, balanced, and gradual initiatives for cooperation, as appropriate, in addressing situations that might affect the workings of the political process of democratic institutions or the legitimate exercise of power, in keeping with the provisions of Chapter IV of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, with respect for the principle of nonintervention and the right to self-determination, and to present those proposals to the Permanent Council.
3. To reaffirm that the Secretary General may bring to the attention of the Permanent Council, in the exercise of the authority conferred on him by the OAS Charter and pursuant to the Inter-American Democratic Charter, those situations likely to lead to action under the said Charters.
4. To instruct the Permanent Council, for the purpose of facilitating regional cooperation to strengthen representative democracy and good governance, to consider, in cooperation with governments, in an ongoing manner, initiatives to support these areas, in accordance with the provisions of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and with the circumstances surrounding democratic processes in the region, taking into consideration the Secretary General’s report and proposals, the efforts of other regional and subregional organizations, and the contributions of civil society in the context of Article 26 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and resolution AG/RES. 1991 (XXXIV-O/04), “Increasing and Strengthening Civil Society Participation in OAS Activities.”
5. To encourage the Working Group to Negotiate the Social Charter of the Americas and a Plan of Action, so that its work may serve effectively to strengthen existing OAS instruments on democracy, integral development, and the fight against poverty.
6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly on the status of implementation of this resolution.
[1] Reservation by the United States: The United States has long been concerned about the persistent violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law throughout the world. The United States will continue to be a forceful advocate for the principle of accountability for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, but cannot support the seriously flawed International Criminal Court. Thus, the United States has not ratified the Rome Statute and has no intention of doing so. In light of this position, the United States cannot in good faith join in the consensus on an OAS resolution that promotes the Court. [2] The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela considers the study entrusted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, on how states can guarantee to all of their citizens the right to seek, receive and disseminate public information, to be of paramount importance. Our Government earnestly requests the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to place emphasis in its study on how states may guarantee the right of all persons, particularly socially excluded sectors, to receive public information, in the framework of the principle of transparency of information, when that information is disseminated via the media and taking into account the equality of all individuals before the law. [3] The United States reserves on paragraphs 1, 7, and 8b because it believes the working group should not begin the process of preparing a new convention against racism. As there is already a robust global treaty regime on this topic, most notably the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to which some 170 countries are States Parties, a regional instrument is not necessary and runs the risk of creating inconsistencies with this global regime. The United States supports the creation of a working group, but believes that the working group should be more action oriented in addressing the scourge of racism and discrimination. Such a working group should analyze the forms and sources of racism and discrimination in the Hemisphere and identify practical steps that governments in the Hemisphere might adopt to combat racism and other forms of discrimination, including best practices in the form of national legislation and enhanced implementation of existing international instruments. This would be aimed at bringing immediate and real-world protection against discrimination. In light of this position, the United States cannot, in good faith, join in the consensus on those paragraphs within an OAS resolution that support the preparation of a new convention against racism.
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