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Public Policy with a Human Rights Approach

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Cover Art Concept Public-policy design must seek structural impact for the prevention and non-repetition of human rights violations, the report says. In that context, human rights must be taken as the central axis of the whole process to design, implement, monitor and evaluate public policy, which must also aim to strengthen democratic institutions. The cover addresses public-policy generation focused on human beings, in all their diversity. It features architectural references of government buildings around the region—as symbols of the public policies that need to be built—with people working on their construction. Diversity also involves acknowledging that certain population groups need special equalizing measures. Cover design: Anto Fraccaro / IACHR OAS/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 191 15 September 2018 Original: English INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Public Policy with a Human Rights Approach 2018 iachr.org OAS Cataloging-in-Publication Data Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Public policy with a human rights approach : approved by the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights on September 15, 2018. p. ; cm. (OAS. Official records ; OEA/Ser.L) ISBN 978-0-8270-6841-4 1. Human rights. 2. Civil rights. I. Title. II. Series. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.191/18 INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Members Margarette May Macaulay Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva Joel Hernández García Antonia Urrejola Flávia Piovesan Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão Assistant Executive Secretary for Monitoring, Promotion and Technical Cooperation María Claudia Pulido Chief of Staff of the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR Marisol Blanchard Vera Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on September 15, 2018 INDEX CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION 9 A. Objective 9 B. Background regarding structural recommendations and public policy 12 C. Structure 14 D. Methodology 14 CHAPTER 2 | PRINCIPLES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH AND PUBLIC POLICY 19 A. Presentation 19 1. Principle of equality and nondiscrimination 20 2. Social participation 22 3. Mechanisms for filing complaints and gaining access to justice 24 4. Production of, and access to, information as a guarantee for transparency and accountability 27 5. Priority protection of groups in situations of historical discrimination 29 6. Inclusion of the gender and diversity perspective 30 B. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and human rights indicators systems 33 C. Institutionality and public policy 35 D. Budgeting with a human rights approach 37 E. End-of-chapter conclusions 42 CHAPTER 3 | PUBLIC POLICY WITH A HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH 45 A. Human rights approach in the cycle of public policy and the contribution of the IAHRS 47 1. Analytical diagram of the contribution of the IAHRS 50 2. Guide of elements to be considered in the cycle of policy 51 a. Building the agenda and/or identifying the situation to be addressed 51 b. Design and/or drafting 53 c. Implementation and/or execution 54 d. Monitoring and evaluation 55 CHAPTER 4 | IMPACT OF THE IACHR’S WORK ON PUBLIC POLICY 59 A. IACHR mechanisms for promoting and protecting human rights and public policy 59 B. Petitions and cases system 61 1. Recommendations in the framework of merits reports 61 2. Friendly Settlements 74 C. Monitoring System 83 1. Thematic reports 83 2. Country reports 90 CHAPTER 5 | CONCLUSIONS 99 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Introduction | 9 INTRODUCTION A. Objective The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the Inter- American Commission, the Commission, or the IACHR) is aimed principally at promoting and protecting human rights in the Americas. It exercises these functions by visiting the countries, drawing up reports about the human rights situation of a given country or on a specific theme, adopting precautionary measures or requesting provisional measures with the Inter- American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter the Inter-American Court or the Court), processing and reviewing petitions and cases through the system of individual cases, providing technical cooperation, and carrying out promotional and training activities. The OAS Charter, in Article 1061 establishes that the IACHR’s main duty is to promote the observance and protection of human rights and to serve as a consultative organ for the Organization in these matters. As the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the American Convention or the ACHR) indicates, in Article 412, the duties and attributions of the IACHR, among which there are the following: making recommendations, requesting reports from State, providing technical advisory services at the request of States, and responding to individual petitions submitted in line with the 1 Charter of the OAS. Article 106. There shall be an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, whose principal function shall be to promote the observance and protection of human rights and to serve as a consultative organ of the Organization in these matters. An inter-American convention on human rights shall determine the structure, competence, and procedure of this Commission, as well as those of other organs responsible for these matters. 2 American Convention on Human Rights. Article 41: The main function of the Commission shall be to promote respect for and defense of human rights. In the exercise of its mandate, it shall have the following functions and powers: a. to develop an awareness of human rights among the peoples of America; b. to make recommendations to the governments of the member states, when it considers such action advisable, for the adoption of progressive measures in favor of human rights within the framework of their domestic law and constitutional provisions as well as appropriate measures to further the observance of those rights; c. to prepare such studies or reports as it considers advisable in the performance of its duties; d. to request the governments of the member states to supply it with information on the measures adopted by them in matters of human rights; e. to respond, through the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, to inquiries made by the member states on matters related to human rights and, within the limits of its possibilities, to provide those states with the advisory services they request. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR 10 | Public Policy with a Human Rights Approach treaty, in addition to submitting an Annual Report to the OAS General Assembly. It must be pointed out that the mandate and therefore the work of the Inter- American Commission encompasses a wide range of activities to address the human rights situation in the Hemisphere, among which dispute settlement approaches are supplemented by those aimed at exerting an impact on the realities leading to human rights violations. Ultimately, in order to abide by the regulatory framework of the OAS Charter and the provision of Article 41 of the American Convention, in terms of promoting “respect for and defense of human rights,” work must be carried out using a preventive and transformative approach focusing on the structural conditions that make human rights violations possible and even trigger them. In that framework, on the basis of its various mechanisms, the IACHR has been monitoring the human rights situation in 35 states that are members of the Organization of the American States (OAS) and has issued recommendations to help them fulfill their obligation to strengthen and guarantee human rights for the persons under their jurisdiction. Along this line, between 2015 and 2016, the IACHR drafted the Strategic Plan 2017-20213 using a participatory approach and setting the priorities to successfully accomplish its mission and tackle current and future challenges to promote and protect human rights in the Hemisphere. Among the greatest challenges identified, the need to strengthen the democratic institutional framework of States was stressed, as well as capacity building for implementing public policies with a human rights approach that can exert concrete impacts on the enjoyment and exercise of these rights for persons, groups, and communities, with guarantees of equality and justice as the inherent foundation of human dignity. In this context, it is important to stress that Strategic Objective 3 of the above-mentioned Plan is aimed at promoting democracy, human dignity, equality, justice, and basic liberties by actively contributing to strengthening the institutional framework and public policies with a human rights approach of the states in line with inter-American norms and standards and building up the capacity of organizations and networks of social and academic stakeholders to act for the defense of human rights. To this end, the IACHR proposed, as one of its priorities, strengthening its technical cooperation to Member States, regional bodies, social 3 IACHR, Strategic Plan 2017-2021, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.161, Doc. 27/17, March 20, 2017. Organization of American States | OAS Chapter 1: Introduction | 11 organizations, and other institutions for institutional capacity building and the drafting, implementation, and evaluation of public policies aimed at respecting and guaranteeing human rights in the Americas on the basis of inter-American standards. This emphasis emerges from the concerted conviction, of both the IACHR and the states and civil society, that public policies have a relevant role to play as a major tool of the state for its actions. On the basis of this background and in view of the
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