Alexander H.E. Morawa*

The Jurisprudence of the American and African Regional Human Rights Bodies

I. INTRODUCTION The Inter-American human rights system, founded within the framework of the Organi- zation of American States (OAS), is based primarily on two normative instruments, the American Declaration (Am. Decl.)' and the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR).2 The Inter-American Commission3 and Court4 are the two independent

Mag. iur. (University of Salzburg, Austria), LL.M., S.J.D. (George Washington University), Senior Research Associate, European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), Flensburg, . 1 See Thomas Buergenthal, 'The American Human Rights Declaration', in Kay Hailbronner, Georg Ress and Torsten Stein (eds.), Staat und Volkerrechtsordnung. Festscbriftjiir Karl Dooming (Berlin and Heidelberg, 1989),133-42, and Grace Nacimiento, Diellmerikaniscbe Deklaration der Recbte und PJficbten des Menschen. Zum Froze) der Recbtserzeugung durch Resolutionen internationaler Organisationen (Berlin and Heidelberg, 1997). 2 For a comprehensive review of the lnter-American system see , amongst many others, David J. Harris and Stephen Livingstone (eds.), Inter-American System ofHuman Rights (Oxford, 1998),Tomas Buergenthal and Dinah Shelton, Protecting Human Rights in tbellmericas: Cases and Materials (Kehl am Rhein, Strasbourg, Arlington, 4'" ed. 1995), Thomas Buergenthal, 'The Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights', in Theodor Meron (ed.), Human Rigbts and : Legal and Political Issues (Oxford, 1984), Vol. II, 419-93, , Das interamerikanische System zum Schutz derMenscbenrecbte (Berlin and Heidelberg, 1986), and Jochen Abr. Frowein, 'The American and European Conventions on Human Rights: A Comparison, HRLJ (1980), 44. 3 See, e.g., D.J. Padilla, 'The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the Organization of Ameri- can States: A Case Study', 9 ] Int'l Law and Policy (1993), 95. See also Inter-AmCtHR, Certain llttributes oftbe Inter Amaican Commission on Human Rights, advisory opinion OC-13/93 dated 16 July 1993, Series A, No. 13. 4 See, e.g., Antonio Augusto Cancado Trindade, 'The Operation of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights', in: Harris and Livingstone (eds.), Inter-American System ofHuman Rights (Oxford, 1998), 133-49, Scott Davidson, The Inter-American Court ofHuman Rights (Aldershot et al., 1997), Thomas Buergenthal, "fhe Inter- American Court of Human Rights', 76 AJIL (1982) 231, and Hector Gros Espiell, 'Contentious Proceedings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights', 1 Emory J. Int'l Dispute Resolution (1987) 175. bodies safeguarding compliance with these instruments' as well as, by virtue of Article 64 ACHR, which establishes the Court's competence to render advisory opinions, 'any provision dealing with the protection of human rights set forth in any international treaty applicable in the American States, regardless of whether it be bilateral or multilateral, whatever be the principal purpose of such a treaty, and whether or not non-Member States of the inter-American system are or have the right to become parties thereto'.6 The Commission's tasks (unlike, for instance, the former European Commission of Human Rights) also include the preparation of future regional instruments, and it made use of this specific competence in 1997 by adopting, after undertaking comprehensive research into relevant international standards in other systems,' the Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.8 In October 2000, the Commission published its report on 'The Human Rights Situation of the Indigenous People in the Americas'9 which reviews the practice (both legislative and judicial) of the various OAS bodies in the field. That practice reveals that

the Organization of American States has established, as an action of priority for the member states, the preservation and strengthening of the cultural heritage of ... ethnic groups and the struggle against the discrimination that invalidates their members' potential as human beings through the destruction of their cultural identity and individuality as indigenous peoples.'o

The case law of the Commission - which has dealt with some 40 cases so far" - and Court has focused on the following rights of indigenous peoples: life, liberty and humane treatment (including several cases of massacres allegedly targeting indigenous populations 12); property,

5 See Thomas Buergenthal, 'Implementation in the Inter-American Human Rights System', in: Rudolf Ber- nhardt and John Anthony Jolowicz (eds.), International Enforcement of Human Rights (Berlin and Hei- delberg,1987), 57-75, and id.,'Interim Measures in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights', in Rudolf Bernhardt (ed.), Interim Measures Indicated by International Courts (Berlin and Heidelberg, 1994), 69. 6 Inter-AmCtHR, OtherTreaties Subject to the ConsultativeJurisdiction of the Court (Article 64 American Con- vention on Human Rights), advisory opinion OC-1/82 of 24 September 1982, Series A, No. 1, operative para. 1. 7 Inter-AmCommHR (prepared by the Indian Law Resources Center), Authorities and Precedents in International and Domestic Law for the Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/11.110 dated 1 March 2001, available at http://www.cidh.oas.org/ Indigenas/ Indigenas.en.01/index.htm and http://www.indianlaw.orglbriefin�book.htm. 8 Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 26 February 1997, at its 1333"' Session, 95th Regular Session. 9 Inter-AmCommHR, The Human Rights Situation of the Indigenous People in the Americas, report of 20 October 2000, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.108 Doc. 62. 10 Inter-AmCommHR, Case No. 7615, The Yanomami Indians (Brazil), resolution no.12/85 of 5 March 1985, recommendations, para. 9. 11 See Inter-AmCommHR, Press Release No. 23/01, dated 28 September 2001. 12 See, for instance, Inter-AmCommHR, Case No. 11.763, Plan de Sanchez Massacre (Guatemala), report no. 31/99 of 11 March 1999 (concerning the killing of 268 members of the Maya-Achi people, which consti-