IACHR announces public hearings schedule for 194th Period of Sessions

October 31, 2025

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has announced the public hearings schedule for its 194th Period of Sessions, to be held from November 17 to 21, 2025, at the University of Miami, Lakeside Village, 1280 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables, Florida, United States. Over the course of the week, the IACHR will hold 19 public hearings addressing the human rights situation in 14 countries and at the regional level across the Americas.

The IACHR will address the situation of Indigenous peoples and people of African descent in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Panama. Hearings will also be held on the right to freedom of information and expression in Guyana and Argentina; the impact of fiscal policies on access to housing in the United States; and the effects of organized crime on public safety in Peru. Other issues included in the schedule include arms trafficking and its impact on human rights in Haiti, as well as monitoring of the investigations into the Senkata and Sacaba massacres in Bolivia.

Five hearings will address regional issues. Two will focus on the rights of children and adolescents in the contexts of recruitment in armed conflicts and human mobility. Additional hearings will address female genital mutilation practices, the situation of legal professionals in the region, and fiscal and economic policies in relation to poverty and structural inequality.

The IACHR will also follow up on pending cases through three hearings: Damas de Blanco (Private Hearing - Cuba); Closure of the Pachamama Foundation (Ecuador); and Gloria Patricia Porras Escobar and family (Guatemala). Another hearing will be held to monitor precautionary measures concerning people who have been detained or are missing in the aftermath of the elections in Venezuela.

The hearings will bring together representatives of States, civil society organizations, petitioners from across the Americas, and United Nations experts.

On November 18, the IACHR will also hold an in-person meeting with civil society representatives at the University of Miami Auditorium. This meeting will be conducted in Spanish and English and will bring together members of organizations, communities, academia, and interested members of the public to strengthen dialogue with civil society and the Latin American diaspora in Miami. Anyone interested in taking part in these hearings must register through an online form (available in Spanish and English).

In accordance with Article 68 of the IACHR Rules of Procedure, all hearings will be held in person and open to the public. Interpretation in Spanish and English will be available through Zoom, with links for each hearing published in advance on the IACHR website and social media accounts. Live broadcasts will be available on the IACHR’s 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. 222/25

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