Relief for the Inter-American System
OAS approves increase in funding for leading regional human rights bodies
The OAS (Organization of American States) approved on Wednesday, June 21, an increase in the budget for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which together form the Inter-American Human Rights System. The proposal was presented at the General Assembly, held in Cancun, Mexico, by the delegations of Mexico and Argentina, and it will double the funding allocated to the two bodies over the next two years.
According to the International Coalition of Organizations for Human Rights in the Americas, the current budget for the IACHR is approximately US$11.5 million and the Court’s is US$5 million. These amounts are sufficient to cover only half their operating costs.
The Inter-American Commission has been particularly affected by budget shortages. In May 2016, IACHR president James Cavallaro publicly warned of the imminent layoff of 40% of staff and said that the Commission was on the verge of collapse.
The approval of a larger budget for the Inter-American System was one of the highlights of the OAS General Assembly in Cancun. Brazil was one of the countries that opposed the increase and it asked for the decision to be postponed. According to Camila Asano, coordinator of the Foreign Policy program at Conectas, “the position of Brazil is serious and demonstrates, once again, the mismatch between words and action in our human rights foreign policy”.
Over a hundred organizations from across the continent had signed a joint statement in support of the budget increase. They also called on Canada and Brazil to take a leading role in the creation of a continental consensus to ensure that the Inter-American Human Rights System is autonomous, efficient, independent and capable of responding to the challenges ahead. The document was also submitted to the Brazilian ambassador to the OAS, José Luiz Machado e Costa.
Click here to read the statement signed by the organizations.
