IACHR Publishes Friendly Settlement Agreement on Petition 1376-19, Concerning Lack of Access to Applicable Social Benefits for a Victim of the Uruguayan Dictatorship

October 20, 2022

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has decided to approve the friendly settlement agreement concerning Petition 1376-19—Silvia Angélica Flores Mosquera, Uruguay—and to publish approval report 183/22.

The case concerns the State's international responsibility for failing to acknowledge the legal benefits due to Silvia Angélica Flores Mosquera as a recognized victim of State-sponsored terrorism. The petitioning party alleged that the State had violated her human rights, as per various international instruments, by not granting her access to a social benefit set up in Act 18,596 of September 18, 2009, since she had been recognized as a victim of the dictatorship that ruled the country over the period February 9, 1973–February 28, 1985.

On August 10, 2022, the parties signed a friendly settlement agreement in Montevideo. In this friendly settlement agreement, the State once again recognized the petitioner's status as a victim of State-sponsored terrorism according to Act 18,596 and admitted its own international responsibility for violations of the rights held in Articles 5 (right to humane treatment) and 7 (right to personal liberty) of the American Convention on Human Rights.

The State committed to implementing the following redress measures: 1) holding a private signing where it acknowledges its responsibility; 2) granting financial compensation and a monthly income to the petitioner.

In Friendly Settlement Report 183/22, the IACHR approved the provisos held in this agreement and acknowledged compliance with the private signing and admission of responsibility, a hybrid event in which the IACHR took part remotely. The IACHR said that compliance with all other measures held in the agreement remained pending, so it would continue to monitor the agreement until full implementation had been verified.

The IACHR commends both parties on their efforts while negotiating this friendly settlement agreement. The agreement was implemented fast, to suit the petitioning party's specific needs, and turned out to be compatible with the Convention's aims and purposes. The Commission values the efforts made by the petitioning party to negotiate and promote this friendly settlement agreement. The IACHR commends the State on its good disposition to turn to this alternative conflict-resolution mechanism and invites the State to continue to use friendly settlement procedures to resolve other cases that are currently being addressed in the individual petition and case system.

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. 234/22

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