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El Salvador today became the sixth country to ratify the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, DC. See Article.

The Head of the Mission of the Organization of American States who will observe the general elections on April 22 in Paraguay, the former President of Costa Rica, arrived in the country yesterday. The Mission, which began its work on Thursday, April 12, is composed of 40 international observers and experts, who will make a substantive analysis on the inclusion of women, electoral political financing, the use of electoral technology, electoral organization and electoral justice. See Article.

Issue number #54-4 (January 2018) of publication UN Chronicle is now available

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented case 12,197, Ramón Rosendo Carranza Alarcón, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I / A Court HR), regarding Ecuador. See Article.

Issue number #17 (January 2018) of publication Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law is now available

Issue number #2-2018 (February 2018) of publication Monthly Statement of Treaties and International Agreements is now available

Issue number #2-2018 (February 2018) of publication Relevés mensuels des traités et accords internationaux is now available

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the deaths of at least 68 people in the General Command of the Regional Police of the state of Carabobo (Comandancia de Carabobo), Venezuela. The IACHR urges the State to investigate with due diligence, identify and punish those responsible, as well as to adopt the necessary measures to avoid the repetition of similar events. See Article.

The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses its solidarity and extreme concern over the kidnapping of journalists Javier Ortega and Paúl Rivas Bravo of El Comercio newspaper in Ecuador and worker Efraín Segarra, kidnapped in March 26 in Mataje, the Ecuadorian border with Colombia, by an armed group. The Special Rapporteurship of the IACHR condemns this abduction and calls on the authorities of Ecuador and Colombia to continue working together and to adopt all necessary and appropriate measures to facilitate an early release of the journalistic team. See Article.

Representatives of the Member States, international organizations, civil society and observers, will participate on April 4 and 5 in the IV Conference of States Parties to the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and other Related Materials (CIFTA) that will take place in Mexico City. See Article.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses its concern over the high number of murders of human rights defenders and social leaders registered this year in Colombia and urges the State to take urgent measures to protect human rights defenders in the country, as well as carrying out diligent investigations that take into account the activity of defending the human rights of the victims. See Article.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses its concern over the results of the police operation carried out at the Santa Cruz Rehabilitation Center ("Palmasola Prison"), Bolivia, which resulted in the loss of the lives of at least seven inmates and in approximately 20 wounded people, among them, 7 policemen. The Inter-American Commission urges the State to investigate and clarify the circumstances in which these events occurred, as well as to identify and punish those responsible. See Article.

Yesterday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented its Annual Report for 2017. The presentation took place before the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP) of the Organization of American States (OAS). See Article.

The meeting of the Permanent Council that was scheduled for yesterday to meet with the vice-president of the United States has been postponed until further notice. This was due to Washington, DC government office closures due to weather conditions. See Article.

Issue number #70-1 (January 2018) of publication Revista Española de Derecho Internacional is now available

On March 16, the Inter-American Court received a visit from the Magistrates of the Third Division of the Council of State of Colombia. The President of the Inter-American Court highlighted the importance of judicial dialogue with the high courts of Latin America, particularly with the State Council of Colombia, with whom the Inter-American Court has maintained a cooperation agreement since 2011. He also stressed that "The Colombian Council of State uses Inter-American Court jurisprudence in the matter of integral reparation to compensate the damage to persons at an internal level." See Article.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urges the United States of America to suspend the execution of Russell Bucklew, which is scheduled for March 20, 2018 in the state of Missouri, and to grant him an effective remedy. The United States is subject to international obligations derived from the Charter of the Organization of American States since it joined the OAS in 1951. Consequently, the IACHR urges the United States, and in particular the State of Missouri, to fully respect its international obligations in the field of human rights. See Article.

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, today welcomed the decision of the government of President Juan Manuel Santos to resume the talks with the ELN guerrillas, which had been suspended in January. "We are convinced that dialogue is the best way to move towards peace. The current context raises the need to continue working hard to solidify the negotiations and move forward in the construction of peace," said the Secretary General. See Article.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office for South America of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed their "deep concern" about the presidential decree authorizing federal intervention in matters of public order in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. See Article.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Inter-American Court of Human Rights), through a judgment issued on February 5, determined that the State of Brazil is internationally responsible for the violation of the right to collective property and the judicial guarantee of a reasonable procedural period and the right to judicial protection of the Xucuru Indigenous People. See Article.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the promulgation of the law that was created by the Office of the Ombudsman for the Rights of Children in Chile, which is an important component in the process of creating a system of guarantees of children's rights in Chile that can improve the protection of the rights of children and adolescents and prevent violations of them. See Article.

Issue number #1-2018 (January 2018) of publication Relevés mensuels des traités et accords internationaux is now available

Issue number #1-2018 (January 2018) of publication Monthly Statement of Treaties and International Agreements is now available

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the decision of the authorities of El Salvador to commute the sentence and grant Teodora del Carmen Vásquez freedom, after 10 years in prison for having suffered a spontaneous abortion. Likewise, the IACHR expresses its concern that at least 26 other women are still imprisoned after suffering obstetric complications, as a result of the total criminalization of abortion in the country. The IACHR calls on El Salvador to carefully review the sentences in each of these cases and to reform the legislation that currently prohibits abortion in all circumstances, in accordance with international human rights standards. See Article.

One of the most widespread consequences of the forced disappearance of people is the agonizing effect it has on the disappeared person and his family. The lack of knowledge of what happened with him or her, about whether his life is in danger has a paralyzing effect on the victim and on his social environment. The practices of the States, generally show the refusal to provide information or if they do, they provide misleading information, whose main objective is to hide the truth about the whereabouts of the disappeared person or to maximize the terrifying effects produced by the forced disappearance. See Article.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) today presents its report "Towards a comprehensive policy of protection for human rights defenders" within the framework of its 167th Session, held in Colombia. The purpose of this report is to provide the States of the region with a guide for the development of their internal policies, programs and protection mechanisms for human rights defenders, in accordance with the inter-American human rights standards. See Article.

Bolivia complied with all the reparations ordered in favor of the victim of the Andrade Salmon v. Bolivia Case in the judgment of December 1, 2016. Therefore, the Inter-American Court decided to close and file the case, as indicated in Resolution 5. See Article.

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) held an extraordinary meeting today, Friday, February 23 at 10:00 EST (15:00 GMT) in the Simón Bolívar Room of the organization's headquarters in Washington, DC to "Consider the draft resolution on the latest developments in Venezuela." See Article.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes two decisions of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador, ordering the Ministry of National Defense and the Chief of the General Staff to conduct internal investigations and provide information on military operations involving cases of forced disappearance of children during the Salvadoran armed conflict. See Decision.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented its joint initiatives with other regional and universal organizations and mechanisms for the protection of human rights through a videoconference with the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council. See Article.