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The 127th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) drew to a close on 9 March 2007. During the session, the Commission held hearings on public policies on young people in conflict with the law in Brazil, the rights of children detained in Argentina, the general human rights situation in Nicaragua, extrajudicial killings of children in Honduras, and the effect of security policies on child rights in El Salvador. Full list of hearings. The Commission has asked the Argentinian government to implement a social policy to change the situation of “children detained for reasons other than committing a crime”. A hearing revealed that a number of children had died while being held in police cells. The Commission’s recommendation came after listening to a report from a coalition of national NGOs - Colectivo de Derechos de Infancia y Adolescencia. The coalition pointed out that 19,579 children are being held in detention in Argentina, according to an official report, of whom 87.1 per cent are being held for social and economic reasons, mainly because they have been separated from their families. They insisted this situation contravenes international standards, including article 44 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Speaking at a hearing on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua, a group of national NGOs said that in recent years the country had been characterised by political crisis and disregard for human rights. Among other issues, they reported on the situation of children’s rights, highlighting that more than 600,000 children were outside the education system; thirty-two per cent of children suffered chronic malnutrition, especially those who live on the Caribbean coast and in rural areas; and 30 per cent did not have a birth certificate, increasing their vulnerability to falling victim to human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Commission announced that it would send a delegation to Nicaragua later this year to discuss human rights issues with ministers of the new administration. In a hearing on human rights violations in Honduras, the Centre for Justice and International Law, along with Casa Alianza – Honduras, presented the case of two children - Oscar Daniel Medina (15) and José Luis Hernández (14) – who were abducted, tortured and killed by State officials in 1998. Nine years on, those responsible have still not been brought to justice for the killings. The State of Honduras has not challenged the facts, and has agreed to investigate irregularities in the case. The government also proposed a friendly settlement. This possibility will be studied by the petitioners and the victims’ families. The Commission asked the State to report on progress on the negotiations within one month. Security policies in El Salvador are violating children’s rights, according to The Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and the Network for Children and Young People (RIA). In a hearing at the Commission, they stressed that the 'Mano Dura' (Heavy Hand) policy has resulted in the arbitrary detention of high numbers of young people, violating their right to personal liberty and freedom of association. The State sustains that young people are responsible for most of the country’s crime. Watch the hearing During the session, the Commission also approved its annual report for 2006, which includes an analysis of the progress made on implementing human rights in the region, as well as pending challenges. The report will be presented to the 37th General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS), which will take place in Panama from 3 – 5 June 2007. The Commission will hold two other regular sessions this year: 16 - 27 July and 8 - 9 October. Some of the hearings are available as webcasts on the website of the OAS, go to: http://www.oas.org/OASpage/videosondemand/home_eng/videos.asp More information
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