INTRODUCTION

          The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has the honor to submit its report to the General Assembly, in compliance with the provisions of Article 52 f of the Charter of the Organization of American States.

            This report contains three “sections”: The first is a summary of its origin, structure and competence; the second contains the material indicated in Article 9 (bis) of the Statute of the Commission; and the third summarizes the activities of the Commission during the year.

          Section One, in accordance with resolutions AG/RES. 171 (IV-O/74) and AG/RES. 246 (VI-O/76) of the General Assembly, includes a summary of its budget and its relations with other organs of the system and with regional and worldwide agencies of the same kind.

          Section Two, in accordance with operative paragraph 4 of Resolution XXII of the Second Special Inter-American Conference, is divided into two parts: I – “A statement of progress achieved in realization of the goals set forth in the American Declaration” and II – “A statement of areas in which further steps are needed to give effect to the human rights set forth in the American Declaration.”

          In order to prepare Part I of Section Two, the Commission, on October 25, 1976, requested the governments of the member states of the Organization to transmit to it information on the progressive steps taken and the texts of laws promulgated and of judicial decisions and administrative acts issued during the years 1975 and 1976 in relation to the promotion and defense of the rights and duties of man set forth in the American Declaration. Five countries, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti, and the United States, had sent information concerning their legislation on matters of human rights, up to the time this report was prepared.

          Section Three contains a detailed summary of the activities of the IACHR in connection with its 37^th, 38^th and 39^th sessions, which permits an analysis of the work accomplished by it during the year 1976. In accordance with the desire expressed by the sixth regular session of the General Assembly, the Commission has not included in this report information on cases being processed (resolution AG/RES. 246 (VI-O/76).

          The considerable increase in the number of communications and denunciations of violations of human rights—an increase that had to be handled with practically the same staff and the same resources the Commission has had for the last five years—as well as the need for preparing special reports on the situation regarding these same rights in various countries in the hemisphere, prevented the Commission from continuing with the studies and projects mentioned in Article 26 of its Regulations.

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