IACHR announces schedule of public hearings for 195th Period of Sessions in Guatemala

February 13, 2026

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has announced the schedule of public hearings for its 195th Period of Sessions. The hearings will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Guatemala City, Guatemala, from March 9 to 13. During this week, the IACHR will facilitate dialogue among States, victims, and civil society organizations through 29 hearings addressing urgent human rights situations.

The IACHR will hold hearings on issues affecting specific countries in the Americas and on regionwide matters. In North America, the agenda includes internal displacement in Mexico and extraterritorial security operations in the United States. With regard to Central America, the IACHR will receive information on people deprived of their freedom and people who have been released from detention in Nicaragua, as well as on victims of sexual violence and human rights defenders in El Salvador, in the context of the state of emergency.

In South America, the IACHR will hold a hearing on the situation of the Ombud’s Office in Peru and will receive information on Operation Containment in Brazil and citizen security policies in Ecuador. There will also be two hearings on the situation of victims of human trafficking in Colombia and Venezuela, and on freedom of expression, press, information, and association in Venezuela. One Caribbean-related hearing will address the impact of migration policies on the right to health in the Dominican Republic, and another will examine the situation of people deprived of their freedom in Cuba.

The IACHR will also hold regional hearings addressing, among other issues, political violence against women; policies to combat organized crime; denialism in policies on memory, truth, and justice; fossil fuel extraction; gender-based violence; people who have been deported, expelled, or transferred; and transnational repression. Additional hearings will address the rights of Roma peoples and communities; practices aimed at altering sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; and illegal mining and its impact on economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights.

Other hearings will address individual cases from Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico; a precautionary measure concerning Brazil; and the monitoring of compliance with recommendations issued to Honduras.

In-Person Dialogue with Civil Society

The IACHR is convening an open dialogue with civil society organizations to hear about the human rights situation in the region and the challenges facing the inter-American system. The meeting will be open to the public and held in person on March 9, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., in Salón Roble 1 at the Hotel Intercontinental, located at 14 Calle 2-51, Guatemala City 01010, Guatemala.

Those interested in participating must register through the form available at the following link, by March 2. The first registered participants will be selected and notified and may take the floor for up to three minutes each. Please note that participation is in person only.

The Period of Sessions will also include side events on various topics. Information about these activities will be published on the IACHR website and its official social media channels in due course.

The IACHR wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the State of Guatemala for its invitation and willingness to host the 195th Period of Sessions, as well as for its valuable support in organizing the event.

In accordance with Article 68 of the IACHR’s Rules of Procedure, all hearings will be held in person and will be public. They will take place in the Roble 1 and Roble 2 conference rooms at the Intercontinental Hotel in Guatemala City. Attendees requiring interpretation in Spanish or English may register via Zoom links, which will be published on the schedule of hearings, on the IACHR website, and on the IACHR social media channels in due course. Journalists who wish to attend the public hearings may register at the following link. All hearings will be livestreamed on the IACHR YouTube channel.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 028/26

2:30 PM