Human Rights Decade Long Decline Worldwide: IACHR in Crisis

#IACHRinCrisis: The latest blow to human rights worldwide

 
 Human rights and democracy have been in retreat worldwide for the past decade. Between 2006 and 2016 there has been a steady decline in global liberty and human rights. The Associated Press reported that the Obama administration "is blaming a global crisis in governance as well as atrocities committed by non-state actors for a decline in human rights standards around the world." 

Now the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a pioneering regional human rights organization founded in 1959 may be drastically scaled back or could even shut down due to a lack of support in the Americas if present trends continue. The attacks on regional human rights organizations in the Americas have been ongoing for years. An important highlight was Venezuela rejecting the American Convention on Human Rights and pulling out of the Inter-American Court  in 2012. Now this financial crisis which in reality is a human rights crisis in the Americas exposes the hollowness of national commitments in this hemisphere towards human rights. The United States, unfortunately, has not been immune to these trends.

Severe Financial Crisis of the IACHR Leads to Suspension of Hearings and Imminent Layoff of Nearly Half its Staff

IACHR Press Release

May 23, 2016

Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is going through a severe financial crisis that will have serious consequences on its ability to fulfill its mandate and carry out its basic functions. The Commission deeply regrets having to report that on July 31, 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. The Commission is also very sorry to report that it has been forced to suspend the visits it had planned for this year, as well as its 159th and 160th sessions, which had been scheduled for July and October.

The IACHR is alarmed by the fact that this situation will result in the dismantling of areas essential to its mandate. The IACHR is also distressed for the victims, petitioners, and civil society organizations that had planned to participate in hearings, working meetings, and other forums scheduled for the October session. The IACHR also expresses its deep concern because the suspension of sessions has a direct impact on the Commission’s capacity to make progress in processing complaints of human rights violations, since it is during these sessions that the Commissioners analyze, debate, and approve reports on petitions and cases.

Moreover, it is disturbing that thousands of victims of human rights violations will be left unprotected. The total dismantling of some work teams and the cutbacks mean that it is inevitable that the procedural backlog the Commission had been trying to reduce will increase again and will reach a point where it is incompatible with the right of access to justice. The IACHR also deeply regrets having to face an imminent situation in which it could lose valuable employees who have worked tirelessly for the rights of victims and have brought a sense of duty and devotion to the cause of human rights.

In the last few months and weeks, the IACHR and its Executive Secretariat have tried its best to confirm donations that had been previously talked, but unfortunately these did not succeed. The IACHR will continue to make every effort within its power to turn this situation around immediately, to prevent the loss of 40 percent of its staff and to be able to reschedule its sessions, visits, and all the other activities planned for 2016. To this end, the Inter-American Commission calls on the member countries, observer countries, and other potential donors to make urgent financial contributions that can be immediately available.

To avert this dire situation, the IACHR would need to receive funds, or at least commitments in writing for donations, before June 15.

Beyond the immediate financial crisis, the Inter-American Commission suffers from a structural, systematic lack of funds that must be addressed and resolved. There is a deep discrepancy between the mandate the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) have given the IACHR and the financial resources they allocate to it. The regular budget of the IACHR this year is less than 5 million dollars, which amounts to $0.005 per person in the hemisphere per year. The staff of the Commission financed by the OAS regular fund consists of 31 people; in other words, it has fewer employees than countries under its jurisdiction. The other 47 employees are financed with donations, which can be unstable and unpredictable, as the current crisis shows.

In the last two decades, the Commission has made ongoing efforts with the OAS Member States to secure a budget that would enable it to work effectively to fulfill its mandate. As a result of these efforts, the OAS General Assembly has approved a number of resolutions expressing a commitment to address the situation; however, these have not been reflected in a significant increase in resources. While the Council of Europe earmarks 41.5 percent of its budget to the promotion and protection of human rights, the OAS earmarks 6 percent of its budget to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.

 In this regard, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights strongly urges the OAS Member States to take on their responsibility to the inter-American Human Rights System. The IACHR hopes that the next OAS General Assembly, which will be held in June, will adopt a historic and far-reaching decision, one that reflects the States’ commitment to the defense of human rights in the region. This means radically increasing the budget of the OAS regular fund and allocating to the IACHR and the Inter-American Human Rights System in general the resources needed to fulfill the mandate the States themselves have handed down. It is essential, imperative, and urgent for the States to adopt a sustainable solution to this serious, chronic problem and demonstrate their commitment to the respect and guarantee of human rights with deeds and not just words.

The IACHR expresses its firm commitment to continue to work in the fulfillment of its functions, inspired by the words of the American Convention on Human Rights, which states that “the ideal of free men enjoying freedom from fear and want can be achieved only if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights.”

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 Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

Press Freedom in Decline in the Western Hemisphere

Freedom in retreat?

"No country safe from the censorship power," concludes the IAPA

Charleston, SC (October 6, 2015).- The 71st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA ), which gathered more than 300 media executives and journalists, ended today after five days of sessions. The following document summarizes the debates and discussions that took place over press freedom in the Western Hemisphere.

CONCLUSIONS

of the 71th General Assembly

October 2 – 6, 2015

 

Unremitting violence against media outlets and journalists; the proliferation of laws, initiatives, and pressures from governments attempting to control the free flow of information both in the traditional media and on new media platforms; restrictions on access to public information; the discriminatory placement of government advertising; and greater concentration of media outlets in the hands of those with ties to governments. These were the warnings sounded most loudly by the publishers gathered at the 71st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association.

No country in the Americas is safe from the wave of censorship that is spreading like a massive oil spill. This is true even in countries that have traditionally upheld press freedom, in some cases under the paradoxical pretext of promoting pluralism, of ensuring the “right to forget,” or of stopping “hate speech.” This, combined with the rising prominence of thugs affiliated with drug trafficking and urban gangs, poses clear risks for civil liberties, and for freedom of expression and freedom of the press in particular, and hence for the strengthening of democracy in the Americas.

The unlawful actions of organized crime, drug trafficking gangs, and parapolice groups — many of which have gone unpunished — have left a toll of 11 journalists killed since March 2015: three each in Brazil and Mexico, two in Guatemala, and one each in Colombia, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. In Colombia, the statute of limitations ran out on two 1995 killings, although it should be noted that former Congressman Ferney Tapasco was convicted of ordering the murder of Orlando Sierra.

Various countries in the region saw physical assaults, attacks, acts of coercion and threats against journalists and media outlets for reasons related to their work. In Bolivia, three journalists were detained and temporarily jailed in retaliation for their reporting on government corruption. Acts of repression were directed against reporters covering elections in Guatemala and Argentina, and against those reporting on conflicts and social protests in Peru, Ecuador and Brazil.

In Venezuela, where the government is establishing totalitarian control over the media, 287 violations of press freedom have been documented so far this year, including assaults on journalists, efforts to criminalize the work of journalists, and restrictions on access to information. In a positive development, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling in early September ordering the return of equipment and licenses to RCTV, but this ruling has been ignored thus far by the administration of Nicolás Maduro.

In Cuba, despite the reestablishment of relations between the Cuban and U.S. governments, little progress has been made in freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of the press, and two journalists remain behind bars. The methods of repression include censorship of critical websites, inspection of emails, suspension of mobile phone service, and physical and verbal attacks on activists and independent journalists.

In Ecuador, the climate of repression from oversight entities tasked with enforcing the Communication Act remains in place. Penalized media outlets and organizations invoked their constitutional right to resistance. A proceeding that would have dissolved FUNDAMEDIOS was dismissed, but the threats remain. The Saturday presidential addresses continue, in which those who dare to dissent from the government line are called out and stigmatized. In Argentina and Venezuela, the respective presidents abusively use national networks to air partisan propaganda and lambaste their critics.

Abuses and the discriminatory use of government advertising are on the rise in Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Mexico.

In the United States, the Justice Department revealed that in 2014 it issued two subpoenas and a search warrant, and that it twice authorized the questioning of media outlets and journalists. Two reporters who covered last year’s unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, were charged with “interference” and “trespassing.”

Restrictions on access to government-held information were exacerbated in Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

In Chile, proposed laws could constitute severely undermine press freedom, including through interference in the editorial line of media outlets, restrictions on property rights and the undermining of the right to free enterprise, harm to journalistic enterprises and journalists, and restrictions on access to information.

In Panama, a bill currently under consideration would require journalists to be members of professional associations and would establish prison terms for illegally practicing journalism, among other serious restrictions. The investigations into illegal wiretappings of journalists are ongoing.

The concentration of media outlets in the hands of government entities or of people with ties to the government is an increasing phenomenon in the Americas. In Paraguay, for example, a business group linked to President Horacio Cartes purchased a group of media outlets, triggering controversy over the concentration of media in the hands of those close to the government. In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega maintains firm control over media outlets and journalists. Only one television station, one radio station, and one newspaper remain as independent media outlets; the remainder are owned by the Ortega family or by people close to them. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa failed to fulfill his commitment to reprivatize the media outlets that had been expropriated by his administration. And Argentina has seen a proliferation of multimedia groups born and raised on government advertising, despite paltry audience numbers.

In Uruguay, the online surveillance program of the Interior Ministry has caused concern, and pending before the Supreme Court are 18 claims seeking to have the Law of Audiovisual Communication Services declared unconstitutional.

In Costa Rica, meanwhile, a proposed law on radio and television that was hostile to private enterprises and press freedom was set aside, and initiatives to regulate government advertising, decriminalize the work of journalists, and legalize community radio stations are under consideration. Still, free journalism continues to face a number of threats.

Also worth noting are the coordinated efforts of press freedom organizations in the region, such as the recently formed Quito Forum, which put forward an action plan to demand that press freedom be upheld in Ecuador.

http://www.sipiapa.org/en/no-country-safe-from-the-censorship-power-concludes-the-iapa/