IIHR in the Americas Bi-weekly newsletter of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights No. 165 – March 1-15, 2010

Content:

• IIHR at inauguration of President Mujica. Montevideo, Uruguay. • IIHR at commemoration of International Women’s Day. Asunción, Paraguay. • IIHR Director attends meetings in Uruguay. Montevideo, Uruguay. • IIHR congratulates new Deputy Director of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. San José, Costa Rica. • Multiple Response System mission and other activities of the IIHR Regional Office for South America. Asunción, Paraguay. • Rules of Procedure for Legal Assistance Fund for Victims. San José, Costa Rica. • Opening of AECID Regional Office Training Center. Montevideo, Uruguay. • Project Activities for strengthening political parties. Santo Domingo, . • Mónica Pinto, first female as Dean of Law Faculty at UBA. Buenos Aires, . • José Miguel Insulza presents proposal. Washington, D.C. • IIHR President at meeting with US Secretary of State. San José, Costa Rica. • IIHR participates in round table on indigenous rights. Talamanca, Costa Rica. • IIHR Executive Director visits Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina. • IIHR signs agreement with Interior Ministry. Asunción, Paraguay. • Commemoration of International Women’s Day. San José, Costa Rica. • Activities of IIHR Executive Director and Regional Office for South America. Asunción, Paraguay. • IIHR Office in Colombia visits National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation. Bogotá, Colombia. • IIHR at launch of transparency and fighting corruption campaign. San Salvador, El Salvador. • Registration period opens for IIHR/AUSJAL Diploma in Human Rights. San José, Costa Rica. • Participants selected for Human rights and women: Central America diploma. San José, Costa Rica. • DIL Director within OAS offers thanks for IIHR support with International Law Days. Washington, D.C. ************************************************************************* IIHR at inauguration of President Mujica

Montevideo, Uruguay. Roberto Cuéllar M., IIHR Executive Director, Victoria Napky, Deputy Director and Director for South America, and Soledad García Muñoz, Coordinator for the Regional Office for South America, attended the Presidential inauguration ceremony on March 1. The delegation had the opportunity to mix with high-level representatives of the countries in attendance, such as José Miguel Insulza, OAS Secretary General and John Biehl, Ambassador to the OAS. The Institute received a special mention when the new President announced his intention to end destitution and reduce poverty in the country, given that the Institute is supporting a strategy to promote human rights from the perspective of poverty. The IIHR reiterated its thanks to outgoing President, Tabaré Vázquez, for his support in establishing the Regional Office, and requested that the new President, Mr. José Mujica, receive the required support for issues related to human rights in the handover period. ************************************************************************* IIHR at commemoration of International Women’s Day

Asunción, Paraguay. The IIHR made valuable contributions on the subject of women’s rights during this ceremony, which was held on March 8 as part of Human Rights Week. The ceremony was presided over by José Raúl Torres Kirmser, President of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ); Roberto Cuéllar M., IIHR Executive Director; Víctor Núñez, Minister for Human Rights at the CSJ; and Minister Alicia Pucheta de Correa, from the same Ministry. Human Rights Week, held from March 8 to 12, was co-organized by the Human Rights Director’s Office at the CSJ and IIHR, the local CLADEM and Amnesty International sections, the Saraki Foundation and other Paraguayan civil organizations. Also attending on behalf of the IIHR was Soledad García Muñoz, Coordinator of the Regional Office for South America. Roberto Cuéllar M. took this opportunity to renew his commitment to women’s rights and underlined his decision to continue strengthening these rights considering that there cannot be justice without inclusion, rights without equality, nor democracy without the participation of women. He also drew attention to continuing gender-based inequality and discrimination, which represents a challenge for human rights education. After reminding those present of IIHR efforts in the field of women’s rights, he concluded by highlighting the historical importance of women in the region, such as Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Cristina Fernández in Argentina, and Laura Chinchilla in Costa Rica, who all won majorities in their respective countries. The event was inclusive, and provided sign language interpretation throughout the three- day event and a Braille version of the program. ************************************************************************* IIHR Director attends meetings in Uruguay

Montevideo, Uruguay. During their stay in the country, the Executive Director, the Deputy Director and the Coordinator of the IIHR Regional Office for South America met with incoming Chancellor, Luis Almagro, and new Ministry for Education and Culture (MEC) authorities: Minister Ricardo Erlich, Vice Minister María Simón; and Javier Miranda, Director of Human Rights. During these meetings, officials discussed the importance of the Ceibal project and began to define work guidelines in areas related to human rights, in particular the integration of related content into formal education. The IIHR delegation also visited the Secretary General of the Latin American Association for Integration, José Félix Fernández Estigarribia, and Agustín Colombo Sierra, Director of the MERCOSUR Secretariat. Close contact was maintained with Vladimiro Villalta, Ambassador of El Salvador, as it is one of the countries that is actively supporting the IIHR initiative for the adoption of an Inter-American agreement on human rights education. The IIHR delegation had the opportunity to greet Belela Herrera, human rights defender and former Uruguayan Vice Chancellor (2005-2008), whose name is lauded within the Regional Office as a result of her efforts to bring the Institute closer to South American countries. The delegation also met with María Elena Martínez, member of the General Assembly, who they thanked for her management of the Human Rights Directorate of the MEC under the governance of President Vázquez. Read more online Click here for the Ceibal Portal ************************************************************************* IIHR congratulates new Deputy Director of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

San José, Costa Rica. The Executive Director congratulated Felipe González, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro and Dinah Shelton, members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, for their recent appointments to the positions of Vice-President and Second Vice- President to this body within the inter-American system. This election will strengthen “leadership in procuring the full exercise of human rights in the Americas” and considers that “its efforts, preparation and commitment” is a guarantee for human rights in the region. ************************************************************************* Multiple Response System mission and other activities of the IIHR Regional Office for South America

Asunción, Paraguay. From February 15-22, Soledad García Muñoz, Coordinator of the Regional Office, and consultants Marcelo Koyra and Hugo Boari, put the first part of the Multiple System Response (MSR) project into action in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, and within the framework of a recently signed inter-institutional agreement. The MSR is an intervention model based on citizen participation in addressing security problems from a human rights perspective. The intense program involved key departments and authorities within the Ministry of the Interior as well as other public institutions such as the National Police, the National Secretariat for Childhood and Adolescence, the Directorate of the Supreme Court of Justice for Human Rights, and the Human Rights Directorate in the Ministry of Education. The IIHR team also worked with numerous community and civil society organizations and academic institutions, such as Asunción Metropolitan University and the Paraguayan Institute of Human Rights. A workshop on methodological transfer was also planned and will be open to other institutions and civil society members to generate the capability to replicate the MSR in different parts of the country, in addition to Bañado Sur and Bañado Tacumbú, areas characterized by poverty and social problems but also a high-level of community organization where the MSR is currently being implemented. Soledad García Muñoz also met to discuss preparations for the Executive Director’s visit in March. For this she met with Nury Montiel, Director of Human Rights of the Supreme Court of Justice and Arnaldo Gutiérrez, Director of Human Rights for the Ministry of Education. ************************************************************************* Rules of Procedure for Legal Assistance Fund for Victims

San José, Costa Rica. On 24 February the Inter-American Court of Human Rights announced the new Rules of Procedure for the Operation of the Legal Assistance Fund for Victims. The new Rules establish that when the case has been brought to the attention of the Inter-American tribunal, the IACHR Court will decide if the alleged victims will receive financial support to cover litigation costs in such an eventuality. In the opinion of the IIHR Executive Director, this important decision is one of the most advanced in the world in terms of guaranteeing access to international justice in human rights, and widens the scope of Advisory Opinion OC-11/90, referring to the right to inter- American justice for persons in extreme poverty, who have exhausted domestic remedies. Read more online Press release for the IACHR Court, click here Advisory Opinion OC-11/90 of 10 August 1990. Exceptions to the Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies (arts. 46.1, 46.2.a and 46.2.b, American Convention on Human Rights), click here ************************************************************************* Opening of AECID Regional Office Training Center

Montevideo, Uruguay. On March 1, at the invitation of the Spanish Embassy, the Coordinator of the IIHR Regional Office for South America, Soledad García-Muñoz, attended the opening ceremony for the Training Center for Spanish Development. This is the fourth center of its kind in Latin America, which joins the existing centers in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia; Cartagena de Indias, Colombia; and Antigua, Guatemala. Prince Felipe of Asturias, who García Muñoz had the opportunity to greet during the ceremony, opened the Center. Also present was the Ambassador of , Aurora Díaz- Rato Revuelta; the General Coordinator for Spanish Development in the country, José Luis Pimentel; and, Jesús Maestro, Director of the new Training Center. ************************************************************************* Project Activities for strengthening political parties

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In the first half of March, Ricardo Valverde, of the IIHR/CAPEL, carried out a mission related to the Strengthening of Political Parties Project in the Dominican Republic. One of the activities consisted of a series of in-depth interviews and questionnaires with the political leaders of the five most popular parties in previous general elections; this activity is part of the new diagnostic on the democratization of political parties, the first version of which was published in 2005. In addition, a further two out of ten focus groups were also held, which are part of an in- depth study of the state of the six most popular parties in the country, in the areas of institutionalization, democratization and transparency. At the time of this report half of the scheduled focus groups had already taken place. Another important activity to highlight is the end of reporting on the process of gathering, systemizing and ordering information as outlined in party statutes and other internal documents, as well as the specialized doctrine on strengthening parties. These actions were coordinated by the consortium that administers the Political Leadership Project and is supported by INTEC and UNIBE Universities and the non-partisan civic movement, Participación Ciudadana (Citizen Participation). *************************************************************************

Mónica Pinto, first female as Dean of Law Faculty at UBA

Buenos Aires, Argentina. On March 4, the IIHR Executive Director attended the inauguration ceremony of Professor and Doctor of Law, Mónica Pinto, who is also IIHR Vice-President, as the new Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Buenos Aires. Ms. Pinto is the first woman to hold this position in the best-known law school in Argentina during its 160 years of existence. Among those in attendance were members of the Supreme Court of Justice, the National Electoral Chamber and other senior-level authorities, in an auditorium that holds more than 1200 people. Read more online: History: Mónica Pinto takes over as Dean of the Faculty of Law click here ************************************************************************* José Miguel Insulza presents proposal

Washington, D.C. On March 3, the current Secretary General of the Organization of American States announced his candidacy for a second term in the post (2010-2015 term), alongside a management proposal. In his speech he expressed his desire to continue fighting for a “modern multilateralism” and requested the support of all the Member States in order to continue this work. He also stated that “the inter-American system of human rights, made up of the Inter- American Commission, Court and Institute of Human Rights must continue using its capacities and resources to move ahead with its work, and we must ensure that its decisions are recognized and complied with by all.” Read more online: Press release click here OAS SG Speech click here ************************************************************************* IIHR President at meeting with US Secretary of State

San José, Costa Rica. Sonia Picado Sotela, IIHR President, attended a meeting held by the President of Costa Rica on the occasion of Hilary Clinton’s visit to the country on March 4. Ms Picado was accompanied by José Thompson, IIHR Deputy Director and CAPEL Director. The Secretary of State came to Costa Rica to participate in the III Inter-Ministerial Meeting on the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas Initiative, which met with the delegations of thirteen other countries. Read more online: American Secretary of State, click here: ************************************************************************* IIHR participates in round table on indigenous rights

Talamanca, Costa Rica. On March 5, the IIHR presented a paper entitled “Legal regulations and the responsibility of institutional actions in facing human rights and the application of the law in indigenous territories” at a round table meeting organized by the Network of Associations for Comprehensive Indigenous Development. The activity took place in Suretka, a community located in the canton of Talamanca, in the Caribbean province of Limón, as part of the Third Intercultural Indigenous Festival of the RHA 2010. *************************************************************************

IIHR Executive Director visits Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina. During his stay in Argentina, Roberto Cuéllar M. met with Admiral Jorge Omar Godoy, Chief of Staff of the Armada of the Argentine Republic, on March 5 to discuss issues of common interest. The Director also attended the opening ceremony for the Bicentennial Regatta with flagships from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, , Colombia, , Spain and Portugal, which took place in Puerto Madero. Finally, he met with the Argentine Workers’ Center. ************************************************************************* IIHR signs agreement with Interior Ministry

Asunción, Paraguay. On March 9, the Executive Director signed an important agreement with the Paraguayan Ministry of the Interior, which was represented by Minister Rafael Filizzola. This agreement includes four fundamental axes: a) bringing police operations in line with international standards for the protection of human rights; b) accompaniment in implementing and monitoring the Policy and National Strategy for Citizen Security, from a human rights perspective; c) implementation of the proposal for the prevention of social violence and crime from a human rights perspective, named Multiple Response System (MRS); and, d) the generation and/or strengthening of spaces for inter-institutional, multi- sectoral and inter-disciplinary work. Present at the ceremony were Soledad García Muñoz, Coordinator of the IIHR Regional Office for South America, and officials from the aforementioned Ministry and the National Police. The signing of the agreement was followed by a large press conference and meeting with civil society organizations and public institutions who will participate in the implementation of the MRS. with the participation of Soledad García Muñoz, to identify the necessary resources and actions in order to achieve the proposed objectives within the framework of the initiative. The Human Rights and Citizen Security Directorates, both from the Ministry of the Interior, will be jointly responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the agreement, along with the IIHR Regional Office for South America. Based on its work to date, the Institute team has yielded excellent results in terms of the appropriation of methodology and the participation of multiple state and social actors in the implementation of the MRS. Read more online: Ministry of the Interior signs agreement with international Human Rights institution, click here ************************************************************************* Commemoration of International Women’s Day

San José, Costa Rica. On March 8, consultant Gabriela Arguedas represented the Institute at a commemorative activity for International Women’s Day. It was organized by the Department for the Promotion of Human Development and the Curricular Development Directorate within the Ministry of Public Education (MEP). Arguedas gave the keynote address, underlining the firm and unfaltering commitment of the IIHR to the defense, publication of and education on human rights, as well as its work with sectors traditionally discriminated against in the region, such as women. Looking one hundred years on from the proclamation of this date, she emphasized that this day was chosen to remind the world of the existence of women and their demands for a just society, free from discrimination, oppression and slavery. The event took place in MEP headquarters with the participation of its representatives and staff. ************************************************************************* Activities of IIHR Executive Director and Regional Office for South America

Asunción, Paraguay. The Executive Director and the Coordinator of the IIHR Regional Office for South America carried out a series of activities, which included the following activities. On March 8, International Women’s Day, Soledad García Muñoz gave a lecture during a conference on inter-American and international standards for the protection of women’s rights. This took place as part of activities during Human Rights Week, which was organized by the Supreme Court of Justice. The audience was made up of Chancellery officials and invitees, who included \ Line Bareiro, IIHR General Assembly member. Ms Muñoz also participated in a panel on women’s access to justice together with Elodia Almirón, from the Judiciary, and Graciela Mendoza, from CLADEM Paraguay. The Executive Director and the Coordinator of the Regional Office then met with Hugo Britez, Vice-Minister of Culture and Religion from the Ministry of Education, and Arnaldo Gutiérrez, Director of Human Rights, who happily received the proposal for the inter- American agreement for human rights education. The agreement will be drawn up by Mr. Cuellar and they will then consider lending their support. They also addressed the strategic direction the cooperation agreement between the aforementioned Ministry and the IIHR. On March 9, they visited the Superior Electoral Court where they met with its President, Juan Manuel Morales Soler, and Minister Alberto Ramírez Zambonini, to discuss political party internal elections, which will take place in July, and the municipal elections slated for November. Both representatives underlined the importance of IIHR support and experience in the context of electoral events, which Roberto Cuéllar M. has offered through CAPEL and the Regional Office. The same day, the institutional delegation had a beneficial meeting and exchange with the Human Rights Coordinator in Paraguay (CODEHUPY), a network of more than thirty social and non-governmental organizations which form part of the Inter-American Platform of Human Rights, Democracy and Development (PIDHDD). Roberto Cuéllar M. and Soledad García Muñoz also had the opportunity to visit Father Francisco Oliva (Pa´i Oliva) to see his work in the Bañado Sur, which provides greater educational opportunities to excluded youth in one of the poorest areas of Asunción where the IIHR is also carrying out work in the context of the MRS Project. On this same day, the Executive Director spoke at Asunción Metropolitan University on security from a human rights perspective. This activity, in which students and professors of the institution participated, was preceded by a meeting with the Rector, deans and lecturers from the different faculties. Find out more online: IIHR officials’ visit, click here Listen to an interview with Soledad García Muñoz on women’s human rights at the following link: http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/audios/20100304/derechos-mujer-protagonistas-actos-onu-previos-8-marzo-hora- america/710969.shtml ************************************************************************* IIHR Office in Colombia visits National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation

Bogotá, Colombia. On March 11, at the offices of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation, Pedro Pablo Parodi, Manager of the IIHR Office in Colombia, met with Commission President Eduardo Pizarro, advisor Stella Avendaño and José Hernández. They learned about the functions of the Commission and the implications of a gender focus in relation to female victims and the judicialization of their complaints, taking into account the family and social stigma that sexual attacks imply. They also explored methods of cooperation with the IIHR in terms of collective reparations and reparations for victims of sexual crimes and mechanisms of psychosocial care. ************************************************************************* IIHR at launch of transparency and fighting corruption campaign

San Salvador, El Salvador. On March 12, Juan Navarrete, Director for Central America, attended the launch of a campaign to promote transparency and combat corruption in all government institutions in the country. The campaign is considering the distribution of posters and a series of actions, including consultations on the Access to information and transparency Law, the opening of so-called Information and Response Offices (OIR) and accountability processes, which would include the publication of periodic government reports on these matters. The initiative is supported by the National Development Foundation (FUNDE), El Salvador and the IIHR. Read more online: Executive launches campaign for transparency, click here ************************************************************************* Registration period opens for IIHR/AUSJAL Diploma in Human Rights

San José, Costa Rica. The IIHR has the pleasure of announcing that the registration period has opened for the Diploma in Human Rights, which offers three specializations: Access to justice; Participation, citizenship and human rights; and Human Rights Education. This is offered through the Inter-University Program for Human Rights, from the Association of Latin American Universities Trusting in the Company of Jesus (AUSJAL), which has six member universities (Javeriana Pontificate University of Bogotá, Colombia; Rafael Landívar Campus in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala; Iberoamericana, in ; Dámaso Larrañaga in Montevideo, Uruguay; Catholic University Andrés Bello in Caracas, Venezuela; and the Pedro Boñó Philosophical Institute Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic), in conjunction with the IIHR. The AUSJAL Diploma in Human Rights all individuals interested in improving their knowledge and capacity to defend, promote, educate on and research human rights. It combines classroom activities with distance learning and extends over approximately eight months. People who successfully pass the course will receive a certificate issued by the study center where they attended the course, approved by AUSJAL and the IIHR. The deadline for registration is April15. To see the invitation to apply, click here Pre-registration: http://www.ausjal.org/sitios/educacion/ddhh/ ************************************************************************* Participants selected for Human rights and women: Central America diploma

San José, Costa Rica. On March 12, the IIHR, the University of Costa Rica, the Center for Legal Studies (CEDE), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IAHR Court) and the Human Rights Center at the University of Chile, released their list of individuals selected to participate in the Human Rights and Women: Central America 2010 diploma, which will run from April 5-July 2. The course is aimed at lawyers in Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Its main objective is to provide training on human rights and appropriate litigation of national and international cases based on discrimination on the grounds of sex. To consult the definitive list of candidates, visit the Diploma website at: http://www.iidh.ed.cr/comunidades/derechosmujer/ ************************************************************************* DIL Director within OAS offers thanks for IIHR support with International Law Days

Washington, D.C. Dante Negro, Director of the International Law Department in the OAS Secretariat of Legal Affairs, officially thanked the IIHR Executive Director for “his unconditional support” in executing the 10th edition of International Law Days, which was held in the Institute’s Inter-American Classroom from February 2-5. The event brought together 28 experts from various countries in the Americas and Europe to exchange ideas and lay the foundations for a network of professors specialized in international law. Participants included Roberto Cuéllar M., IIHR Executive Director; José Thompson, IIHR Deputy Director and CAPEL Director; and consultant Víctor Rodríguez. See the meeting photos, here ************************************************************************* Information and Documentation Center documentació[email protected] The information contained in this Newsletter may be used, provided the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights is credited as its source. All previous issues of IIHR in the Americas and the IIHR Newsletter are available in our digital archive, which may be accessed at the Press Room section of the IIHR Web site (http://www.iidh.ed.cr/).

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