May 25Th of 2016 OAS Member States, the Coalition for Human Rights In
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May 25th of 2016 OAS Member States, The Coalition for Human Rights in the Americas, and the members of other regional and global networks from civil society, express our deep concern over the severe financial crisis currently affecting the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR). We endorse this statement in order to appeal all Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) to take the necessary actions to guarantee the immediate and proper funding of the IACHR in order to fulfill its mandate. In addition, we urgently call for the creation of a sustainable fund to finance the Organs of the Inter-American Human Rights System (IHRS), in order to address the precarious situation, which both the Commission and Inter-American Court of Human Rights have been going through since in the last few years. The Inter-American Commission is mandated to promote the observance and protection of human rights in the Americas, and acts as a consultative organ to the OAS in this area. It is the only regional mechanism that supervises the obligations of all Member States of the OAS in this area, and constitutes the last resort for defending against violations of fundamental rights in the continent. The IACHR is an international referent, due to its great labour of protecting thousands of human rights defenders, who live threatened and criminalized in the Americas. This organ watches over the indigenous people and afro-descendant people’s rights, women and children, and the LGTBI community rights as well, among other vulnerable populations. The role of the IACHR, not only in the area of human rights protection, but also in the implementation of measures to promote their accomplishment, affects almost a billion people across the region. In spite of that, the Inter-American Commission has historically suffered from a structural lack of funds, which are currently reaching the point of effectively compromising the Commission's ability to fulfill its basic functions, including its mandate assigned by the OAS Member States. The Commission itself has announced that on July 31st of 2016 the contracts of 40 percent of its personnel will expire, and at this time the Commission does not have the funds—or the expectation of receiving the funds—to be able to renew them. In addition, the IACHR has reported that it has been forced to suspend the country visits it had planned for this year, as well as the 159th and 160th Period of Sessions, which had been scheduled for July and October of this year. In contrast with other human rights protection organs, either national or international, the financing received by the IACHR from the regular OAS fund, meaning from the Member States, is contradictory with the countries' wish to aspire to build a more democratic region. In 2016, the regular budget provided by the fund was around $5, 4287.9 million dollars, which is 6.44 percent of the annual budget of the OAS – by comparison, the Council of European member States provides 41.5 percent of its annual budget to the promotion and protection of human rights. Even though the OAS General Assembly has approved in the past resolutions committing to address this matter, these changes have not materialized with the required increase of resources, that would allow both the Commission and Court – whose budget will be reduced in a third part by the end of the year, if nothing changes – to have with the proper funding to successfully fulfill their mandates. In addition, the aim of this petition is not only for the IACHR to be able to carry out with the scheduled activities for the current year, to renew the contracts of 40 percent of its staff and to conduct the 159th and 160th Period of Sessions, but also to create a structure for this purpose that converts the funding of those organs into a sustainable practice, significantly increasing the budget that the OAS provides to the Inter-American Human Rights System. The signing Civil Society organizations see in this crisis a unique opportunity to reinforce the OAS Member States' commitment to human rights in the continent. This is why we call on countries to figure out how to secure a strong and stable funding structure, which effectively guarantees the protective devices and tools that the ISHR provides to millions of people in the Americas. Sincerely, Argentina Clínica en Discapacidad y Derechos Humanos, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) Brasil Associação Juízes para a Democracia (AJD) Articulação para o Monitoramento dos Direitos Humanos no Brasil Centro de Agricultura Alternativa do Norte de Minas (CAA/NM) Conselho Indigenista Missionário (CIMI) Conectas Direitos Humanos FIAN Brasil Grupo Tortura Nunca Mais do Rio de Janeiro Instituto de Estudos Socioeconómicos – INESC Justiça Global Movimento dos Atingidos e Atingidas por Barragem (MAB) Bolivia Oficina Jurídica Para la Mujer Canadá Abogados sin fronteras Colombia Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo (CCAJAR) Colectivo Socio jurídico Orlando Fals Borda Comisión Colombiana de Juristas (CCJ) Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz de Colombia Consultorio Jurídico Internacional de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Santo Tomás -Bogotá- Corporación REINICIAR Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento Forzado (CODHES) Corporación Jurídica Libertad Corporación Jurídica Yira Castro Corporación Sisma Mujer FIAN Colombia Fundación Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos Red Colombiana de Mujeres por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos Costa Rica Agenda Política de Mujeres Asociación Ciudadana ACCEDER Asociación Gerontológica Costarricense (AGECO) Asociación Manu Beso Diverso Centro de Investigación y Promoción para América Central de Derechos Humanos (CIPAC) Centro Feminista de Información y Acción (CEFEMINA) Centro Internacional para los Derechos Humanos de los Migrantes (CIDEHUM) Colectiva Caminando Colectiva Irreversibles Colectivo de Ciclismo Urbano ‘Las Luciérnagas’ Confederación de Trabajadores Rerum Novarum (CTRN) Defensa de Niñas y Niños (Internacional DNI) Este es Mi Cuerpo Familias Diversas Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Costa Rica Foro por los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad Frente por los Derechos igualitarios Fundación Bandera Ecológica Fundación PANIAMOR Furia Rosa Grupo Poder Ciudadano Hijas de la Negrita MULABI - Espacio Latinoamericano de Sexualidades y Derechos Peras del Olmo Personas, sexualidades y géneros (PSG) ¿Piropos o acoso? Proyecto Lyra Psicology Community Red Feminista contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres Servicio Jesuita para Migrantes Tío Hugo Unión Asesora Afrodescendiente (UNASAF) Ecuador Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos “Segundo Montes Mozo S.J.” (CSMM) Comisión Ecuménica de Derechos Humanos (CEDHU) Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de Guayaquil (CDH) Comité Nacional de Víctimas de Lesa Humanidad y Graves Violaciones de Derechos Humanos en Ecuador Observatorio Sociolaboral y Diálogo Social en el Ecuador OSLADE Pueblo Sarayaku El Salvador Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalización del Aborto Terapéutico, Etico y Eugenésico en El Salvador. Asociación Comunicando y Capacitando a Mujeres Trans con VIH en El Salvador (COMCAVIS TRANS) Asociación Pro Búsqueda de Niñas y Niños Coalición Salvadoreña para la Corte Penal Internacional Colectiva Feminista para el Desarrollo Local Comisión de Derechos Humanos de El Salvador (CDHES) Espacio de Mujeres Lesbianas por la Diversidad (ESMULES) Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación del Derecho (FESPAD) Oficina de Tutela Legal Dra. María Julia Hernández Red de Defensores y Defensoras de El Salvador Red Salvadoreña de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos Servicio Social Pasionista SSPAS Estados Unidos AFL-CIO, Central Sindical de los Estados Unidos American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law Church World Service Clínica de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Texas Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Institute for Policy Studies - Global Economy Program National Security Archive Sister Parish, Inc. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Guatemala Alianza frente a la Criminalización Asociación El Refugio de la Niñez Asociación Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos de Guatemala, FAMDEGUA Asociación para el Desarrollo Integral de las Víctimas de la Violencia en las Verapaces, Maya Achi. (ADIVIMA) Centro de Acción Legal-Ambiental y Social de Guatemala (CALAS) Centro Internacional para Investigaciones en Derechos Humanos (CIIDH) Centro para la Defensa Legal Indígena (DLI) Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH) Comisión de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala Comité de Desarrollo Campesino (CODECA) Comunidades en Resistencia del Estor, Izabal Convergencia por los Derechos Humanos Grupo de Trabajo contra la Desaparición Forzado de Guatemala Farmacéuticos Mundi Guatemala Foro de ONG Internacionales en Guatemala (FONGI) Fundación Myrna Mack Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres (GGM) Guatemala Solidarität Österreich (Austria-Guatemala) Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales de Guatemala (ICCPG) Mujeres en Defensa del Territorio, Guatemala Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala (ODHAG) Organización de Apoyo a una Sexualidad Integral frente al Sida (OASIS) Red Nacional de Protección de Defensoras de Guatemala Red de la No Violencia contra las Mujeres (REDNOVI) Iglesia Luterana ILUGUA de Guatemala Honduras Asociación Colectiva