- 116 -

AG/RES,.lQU (X;lX-Q/89)

RKPORTSOF THE INTER-AME,RIC.?iliC.OMMISS.IONOR HUMltNRIGHTS

(Resolution adoptedat tl1.eni,nth plenary session,h~ldion.,NovemQEH:18, 1989)

THE GENERALASSE~BLY,

HAVING SEEN the Anl}ual Report, of the, Inte.r-American CommissiononHumanRights (AG/doc.2418/89) and.the specia). report on the situation ofhumanrights in Pan~a. (AG/doc.2454/8,9,);and

CONSIDERING:

That, in, th~. Charter o.f the OJ"g.anizg.tion,of AmeJ"ican,States, thememberstat-es hqve.dl'lcl,aredthat respect fOr tl1e fundamental,rights of theindividual, without distinction as to, rac.e, na,tiong.:lity, creed, or sex, isone of the basic principJes of the Orgj3.ni~ation;

That the main purpose of the Inter-American Commission on HumanRights is to promote the. opservanceand defense of humanrights in all thememberstates and, in the case of the stat.es..parties to the AmericanConvention on Human,.Rights, to see to the observance of the humanrightsenshrined in t~a~in~~~um,en~;

That a d~mocraticstructure, is all- essential' element,for establishmentof a political society wberein human,rig:htscan be fully realized;

That it is the opligation of, the, American states to hold freeelections, in accordance.with the proyisions, of the American Declarationof the Rights and Duties of Man, the 1959D~cJ.aratipn,of Santiago, and theAmericanConvention on HumanRights;

That, in, its Apn,u9.lReport, the Inter-American Commission on HumanRights has stresse9- the ret.urn to representative_ democracy,in a numberofstates, and the, measures adopted in other countries, to establish orrestore the system of representative democracy; which, constitutesignificant contributions toward obse~vanceof the rights contained in theAmerican Declar,ation"of the Rigl:l.ts,and D1,.ltiesof Man.and in the AmericanConventionon HumanRights;

That, despite the foregoing, the Anp,\lal Report of the Commissionpoints out that serious violations of basic rights and freedomspersist incertain countries;

- 117 -

That, in its Annual Report, the Commission hasthe progressive development and codification ofgoverning human rights and has proposed severalstrengthen and encourage that process; and

also made reference tothe international lawmeasures intended to

That the Commission has proposed that,the celebration of the Quincentennial ofEncounter of Two Worlds, a legal instrumenthuman rights of the Indian peoples,

RESOLVES:

in 1992, on the occasion of

the Discovery of America:be adopted in regard to the

1. To receive, with great interest, the Annual Report and therecommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, as wellas its special report on the situation of human rights in Panama, and toexpress appreciation and congratulations for the serious and vital work itis doing in the area of the protection and promotion of human rights.

2. To strongly urge the governments mentioned in the Annual Reportto espouse the corresponding recommendations of the Commission inaccordance with the requirements of their constitutions and domesticlegislation, in order to guarantee faithful observance of the human rightsset forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man andthe American Convention on Human Rights.,

3. To express its concern over the persistence of serious violationsof basic rights and freedoms in several countries of the region,particularly of cases that infringe upon the full effectiveness of thecivil and political rights recognized in the American Declaration of theRights and Duties of Man and in the American Convention on Human Rights.

4. To express its support for and solidarity with the sister peopleof Panama and to express its grave concern over the serious violations ofbasic rights and freedoms in Panama, especially the full effectiveness ofcivil and political rights as noted by the Commission in its specialreport on that country presented to the General Assembly at this session.

5. To reiterate to those governments that have not yet reinstatedthe representative democratic form of government the urgent need toimplement the pertinent institutional mechanisms, consistent with thecircumstances and characteristics of each country, to restore such asystem in the shortest possible time through free, genuine, andpluralistic elections by secret ballot, without outside interference,since democracy is the best guarantee of the full exercise of human rightsand is the firm foundation of solidarity among the states of thehemisphere, and of the preservation of the regional American system basedon the existence of democratic, pluralistic, and representative states.

- 118 -

6. To recommendto the governmentsof the memberstates that theygrant the necessaryguarant,eesandfacilities to enable nongovernmentalhumanrights organizatJ,pnsto continue contributing to the promotionandprotection of humanrights, and that they respect the freedomand personof the leaders of suchorganizations.

7. To energetically condemnthe practice of forced disappearancesas a crime against hu.r.nanityand the use of torture as an abominationthatis an affront to the very natureof the humanbeing.

8. To take note of the commentsandobservations received from thegovernmentsof the memberstates and of the information received on themeasuresthat they ~avetaken andwill continue to implementin order tobetter ensurethe opserv~nceof humanrights in ,their countries.

9. To note with satisfaction the decision of the governmentsof thememberstates that have invited the Commissionto visit their respectivecountries, and to urge the governmentsof the states that have not yetagreedto or set a date for suchvisits to do so as soonas possible.

10. To recommendto the memberstates that are not parties to the1969 AmericanConventionon HumanRights "Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica"that they ratify or accedeto that instrument;in the case of those statesthat do not recognize the competenceof the Inter-AmericanCommissiononHumanRights to rece.i,veand,examineinternational communicationspursuantto Article 45 (3) of tl1eConventionor that do not accept the compulsoryjurisdiction of the Inter-AmericanCourt of HumanRights, in accordancewith Article 62 (2) of the aforementionedCo~vention,that they do so.

11. To recommendto the Inter-AmericanCommissionon HumanRightsthat it begin a study on the practical observanceof the rights includedin the AmericanConventionon HumanRights and of the legal obstacles tothe application of thpt Convention;on the impedimentsto the enjoymentofthose rights; on the advisability of including newrights, both individualandcollective, andon the possibility of modifyingthe present proceduresand mechanismsin the Conventionto makethemmoreeffective so as toensurebetter protection of humanrights.

12. To recommendto thosestates that havenot yet done so that theyratify or accedeto, as the case maybe, the Inter-AmericanConventiontoPrevent and Punish Tort).lreand the Additional Protocol to the AmericanConventionon HumanRights in the area of economic,social, and culturalrights "Protocol of SanSalvador."

13.

preparepeoples,

To requesta juridicalfor i;l.doption

the Inter-Americaninstrument relative

in 1992.

Commissionon Humanto the rights of

Rights tothe Indian

- 119 -

14. To encouragethe Inter-AmericanCommissionon HumanRights inits sustained effort to defendhumanrights in the region, for which itenjoys the resolute support of the democratic governmentsof theOrganization.

15. To recommendto the Inter-AmericanCommissionon HumanRightsthat it begin a study on the measuresnecessaryto enhancethe autonomy,independence,andpersonal integrity of the membersof the judicial branchso that they "lay investigate violations of humanrights properly andperformtheir functions to the ful~est.

16. To declare that the best guaranteeof humanrights is effectiveexercise of representativedemocracy.