INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION: Rapporteurships assigned

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[WASHINGTON, D.C., 3 February 2010] - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held a working meeting in January to distribute its rapporteurships on thematic areas and countries. The new mandate holders are:

  • Luz Patricia Mejía, IACHR Chair: Rapporteur for Argentina, Ecuador y Bolivia, and Rapporteur on the Rights of Women; she is also the IACHR Delegate for the Organization of American States (OAS) Working Group to Examine the Periodic Reports of the States Parties to the Protocol of San Salvador on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
  • Felipe González, IACHR Vice-Chair: Rapporteur for Brasil, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, and Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families.
  • Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro: Rapporteur for United States and Venezuela and Rapporteur on the Rights of Children; he will also be responsible for the special studies on Public Security and Human Rights.
  • Dinah Shelton: Rapporteur for Chile, Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
  • María Silvia Guillén: Rapporteur for Colombia, Panama and Uruguay, and Rapporteur on the Rights of Afrodescendants. 
  • Jesús Orozco Henríquez: Rapporteur for Canada, Paraguay and Peru; he will also be responsible for the Human Rights Defenders Unit.
  • Rodrigo Escobar: Rapporteur for Costa Rica, Mexico and Dominican Republic and Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty.

 
The four new Commissioners who took office on January 1st are Rodrigo Escobar Gil, María Silvia Guillén, Jesús Orozco Henríquez, and Dinah Shelton. Read their profiles here.
        
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 Commission is composed of seven independent members who act in a personal capacity, without representing a particular country, and who are elected by the OAS General Assembly.
  
Rapporteurships: The appointment process

Once the Commission learns that a rapporteurship will become vacant, it organises a public competition and announces it widely in order to secure the highest number of applications to the post.

Member States and civil society organisations are informed that, during the application period, they may submit their observations on selection criteria the Commission should apply, based on the minimum requirements established in the vacancy announcement.

Once the application period has elapsed, the Commission selects finalists from among the candidates. Finalists must meet each and every minimum requirement established in the vacancy announcement.

The curricula vitae of the finalists are published on the Commission’s Web page so that Member States and civil society are “properly informed” as to the background and credentials of the candidates. These curricula vitae shall remain on the Web page for a reasonable period of time so that informed comments on the candidacies may be submitted to the Commission.
 
Once the period for comments by civil society has elapsed, the Commission shall convene the finalists to be interviewed.
 
When the interview process has been completed, the Commission shall proceed to the election, in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. 
 
From the point of publication of the vacancy announcement until a candidate has been elected, contact between the candidates and the members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights shall be strictly avoided.
 
Once a candidate has been elected, should he or she accept the appointment, the Commission shall announce the election result, emphasising the individual’s credentials and the reasons for which he or she was elected. 

For more information, go to www.cidh.org, press office, press releases, 2006, 41/06

The Rapporteurship on Child Rights

The Rapporteur carries out studies on issues of concern relating to child rights in the region, undertakes in-country visits, prepares specific chapters on children's rights for country and annual reports, and examines individual violations of children’s rights.

Next appointment due: Although the tenure of current Rapporteur Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro officially ends on 31 December 2011, Rapporteurs at the Commission may switch mandates during their term of office.

The Inter-American Commission will hold its 138th regular period of sessions, which will take place from 15-26 March 2010.

Further information

Country: 
Anguilla

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.