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IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Announces Forum of San Jose on Strengthening of the Inter-American Human Rights System
September 10, 2012
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announces the Forum of San José on the Strengthening of the Inter-American System of Human Rights, which will take place September 11, 2012, in San José, Costa Rica. This forum is co-organized by the IACHR and the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Costa Rica, in cooperation with the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH) and the Law School of the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, Enrique Castillo Barrantes, will open the Forum in San José. The IACHR President, Commissioner José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez, will give the conference “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Common Heritage of the People of the Americas.” The morning session will conclude with a dialogue with the persons present. The session will take place from 10:00 to 12:00 hours in the Auditorium Alberto Brenes Córdoba, of the Law School of the University of Costa Rica, and it is open to the participation of all interested persons.
The second session of the Forum of San José will take place at the IIDH, where its director, Roberto Cuéllar, will welcome the participants. Judge Manuel Ventura Robles, Vicepresident of the Inter-American Court of Human rights, will give the conference “Strengthening the Inter-American Human Rights System: the case of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.” The IACHR Executive Secretary, Emilio Álvarez-Icaza, will then explain the goals and methodology of the strengthening process of the IACHR, and there will be five panels with presentations and comments on the following topics: individual petition system; precautionary measures; monitoring of countries; promotion, universalization and transparency; and other aspects related to the strengthening (see complete program in Spanish). For reasons of room capacity, assistance to the second session is by invitation only. The Forum of San José will be transmited in its integrity on the IACHR Webpage.
The Forum of San José takes place in the context of a series of subregional events on the strengthening of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which are scheduled to take place between August and September of this year. These events are part of a profound study that the IACHR diligently conducts with the purpose of reviewing and improving its norms, policies and practices for a better protection of human rights of all persons in the region.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 116/12