The IACHR concludes its 183rd Period of Sessions

March 22, 2022

Washington, D.C.- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) celebrated its 183rd Period of Sessions from March 7-18, 2022, in a hybrid format, holding 20 public hearings on regional and State human rights issues in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. He also met with States of the region and representatives of civil society.

In the framework of the 183rd session, the plenary of the IACHR met at its headquarters in Washington DC and elected its new board of directors for 2022, which is composed of Commissioner Julissa Mantilla Falcón as President, Commissioner Stuardo Ralón as First Vice President, and Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay as Second Vice President.

Noteworthy was the regional public hearing on the human rights situation of Haitian persons in human mobility, which addressed the structural causes of migration in the country and the different rights violations, such as the alarming levels of violence and structural racial discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence; disappearances and unidentified mortal remains; criminalization and detention in deplorable conditions, and stigmatizing speeches. On the occasion, the IACHR stressed that there is a shared international responsibility of all the countries of the continent to act in support of Haitian people, which implies, among other issues, recognizing the vulnerability in which they find themselves and the right they have to seek asylum when they are in danger in their country of origin.

During this session, four meetings were held with representatives of missions to the Organization of American States (OAS) from four regional groups: the Caribbean, Central America, South America and Mexico, as well as the United States and Canada. These meetings are a forum for dialogue on the Commission's mandate and the human rights situation in the region.

Two meetings were also held with civil society organizations in the region: one on the human rights situation in the Caribbean, and the other on the situation of democratic institutions and judicial independence in the region.

The Commission thanks the States and civil society organizations for their efforts to participate in the 183rd Period of Sessions, thus contributing to the advancement of the defense and promotion of human rights in the region; and recalls that under the terms of Article 63 of its Rules of Procedure, the States must adopt protective measures to guarantee the security of all persons who have participated in the Period of Sessions.

Videos (English and Spanish subtitles) of the hearings are available for the use of interested members of the public. An annex with summaries of all the public hearings held during this 183rd Session accompanies this press release.

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 and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 059/22

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