Engaging With the Inter-American Human Rights System for U.S. Advocacy

1061 Pages·2015·45.48 MB·English

The Bringing Human Rights Home Lawyers’ Network
Annual Human Rights in the U.S. Symposium/CLE

ENGAGING WITH THE INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS
SYSTEM FOR U.S. ADVOCACY

Friday, June 12, 2015

Hosted by:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & FLom, LLP

AGENDA

8:30 – 9:15 A.M. REGISTRATION AND COFFEE

9:15 – 9:30 A.M. WELCOME REMARKS
Risa Kaufman, Executive Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School
Sarah Cleveland, Louis Henkin Professor of Human and Constitutional Rights; Faculty Co-
Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School; Member, U.N. Human Rights
Committee

9:30 – 10:00 A.M. INTRODUCTORY KEYNOTE REMARKS
James Cavallaro, Director, Stanford Law School International Human Rights and Conflict
Resolution Clinic and the Stanford Human Rights Center; Commissioner, Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights

10:00 – 11:15 A.M. SESSION I: OVERVIEW OF THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM
This introductory panel will explore the doctrinal and structural framework for the Inter-American
Human Rights System, provide an overview of advocacy opportunities within the system for U.S.
advocates, and examine the U.S. government’s engagement with the system.

 Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Assistant Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights
 Sarah Paoletti, Director, Transnational Legal Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Law School
 James (Jay) Bischoff, Attorney-Adviser, Office of the Legal Adviser, Office of Human Rights
and Refugees, U.S. Department of State
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 Charles Abbott, Legal Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean, Center for Reproductive
Rights

Moderator: Lisa Reinsberg, Executive Director, International Justice Resource Center

11:15 – 11:30 A.M. BREAK

11:30 – 12:45 P.M. SESSION II: STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT
Panelists in this session will discuss strategies for effective advocacy within the Inter-American Human
Rights System. Through case studies on a range of issues, including detention, economic and social
rights, and women’s rights, participants will discuss engagement strategies such as case and thematic
hearings, precautionary measures, on-site visits, reports, and engagement with the thematic rapporteurs.

 Denise Gilman, Co-Director, Immigration Clinic, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
 Francisco Rivera, Assistant Clinical Professor and Director, International Human Rights Clinic,
Santa Clara Law
 Rosa Celorio, Staff Attorney and Specialist, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
 Tara Melish, Associate Professor, Director of the Buffalo Human Rights Center, SUNY Buffalo
Law School
 Jamil Dakwar, Director, Human Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union

Moderator: Cynthia Soohoo, Director, International Women's Human Rights Clinic, CUNY Law School

12:45 – 1:00 P.M. BREAK

1:00 – 1:45 P.M. LUNCH & KEYNOTE CONVERSATION
Tracy Robinson, Commissioner, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Rapporteur on
the Rights of Women
with Ariel Dultizky, Clinical Professor; Director, Human Rights Clinic, University of Texas at
Austin School of Law

1:45 – 2:00 P.M. BREAK

2:00 – 3:15 P.M. SESSION III: LEVERAGING SUCCESS AND DEEPENING IMPACT
Panelists in this session will draw on examples from the U.S. and the Americas to explore strategies for
deepening the impact of advocacy in the Inter-American Human Rights System, including integrating
decisions from the IACHR into domestic litigation and policy advocacy; pursuing government
accountability through hearings, working meetings and friendly settlement mechanisms; and coordination
with other advocates.

 Lenora Lapidus, Director, Women’s Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union
 Francisco Quintana, Program Director for the Andean, North America and Caribbean
Region, Center for Justice and International Law
 Wade McMullen, Managing Attorney, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
 Lisa Davis, Clinical Professor of Law, International Women's Human Rights Clinic, CUNY
School of Law

Moderator: JoAnn Kamuf Ward, Associate Director, Human Rights in the U.S. Project, Human Rights
Institute, Columbia Law School
3:15 – 3:30 P.M. BREAK
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3:30 – 4:45 P.M. SESSION IV: STRATEGIC CONVERSATION ON CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES AND
CHALLENGES IN THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM
This interactive session will explore ways in which human rights experts are looking beyond the
mechanisms of the Inter-American Commission to strengthen human rights accountability in the region
and ensure the ongoing independence and efficacy of the Inter-American Human Rights System itself.
Panelists will discuss potential opportunities to raise awareness of the System and its protections,
complementarity with U.N. mechanisms, and participation within the political organs of the Organization
of American States, as well as some of the constraints on these efforts, including political realities and
resources, and strategies to address them.

 Emilio Álvarez Icaza Longoria, Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights
 Michael Camilleri, Member, Policy Planning Staff, U.S. State Department
 Dinah Shelton, Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law, George Washington University Law
School; Former Commissioner, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
 Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director, Center for Justice and International Law
 Victor Manuel Rodriguez-Rescia, Member, U.N. Human Rights Committee; Senior Consultant,
Inter-American Institute of Human Rights

Moderator: Sarah Cleveland, Louis Henkin Professor of Human and Constitutional Rights & Faculty Co-
Director, Human Rights Institute; Member, UN Human Rights Committee

4:45 – 5:00 P.M. CLOSING REMARKS

INFORMATION REGARDING NEW YORK CLE CREDITS:
Columbia Law School has been certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
Board as an Accredited Provider of CLE programs. Under New York State CLE regulations, each live
non-transitional CLE panel will provide .1.5 credit hours per panel session (a total of 6 credit hours for
the full day) that can be applied toward the Areas of Professional Practice requirement.CLE credit is
awarded only for full attendance of a panel in its entirety. Attorneys attending only part of a Program are
not eligible for partial credit for it, although they are most welcome to attend it. Attendance is determined
by an attorney's sign-in and sign-out, as shown in the Conference registers. Please note that there will be
separate registers for each CLE panel, with sign-out and sign-in required for each one. On sign-out,
attorneys should also submit their completed Evaluation Form, provided at the Conference. Please note
the NYS Certificates of Attendance will be sent to the email address as it appears in the register unless
otherwise noted there.

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ENGAGING WITH THE INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM FOR
U.S. ADVOCACY

BRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS HOME LAWYERS’ NETWORK
ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE U.S. CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAM
JUNE 12, 2015

MATERIALS LIST

SESSION I: OVERVIEW OF THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM
1. American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, OEA/Ser.L./V.II.23, doc. 21, rev. 6 (1948).

2. American Convention on Human Rights (San Jose, Costa Rica, 22 Nov. 1969), 9 I.L.M. 673 (1970),
entered into force July 18, 1978.

3. Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women,
33 I.L.M 1534 (1994), entered into force March 5, 1995.

4. Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Approved by the Commission at
its 137th Regular Period of Sessions, held from October 28 to November 13, 2009, and modified on
September 2, 2011 and during the 147th Regular Period of Sessions, held from 8 to 22 March 2013, for
entry into force on August 1, 2013.

5. Caroline Bettinger-Lopez, The Inter-American Human Rights System: A Primer, 42 CLEARINGHOUSE
REV. J. OF POVERTY L. & POL. 581 (2009).

6. Dinah Shelton, The Rules and the Reality of Petition Procedures in the Inter-American Human Rights
System, University of Notre Dame, The Center for Civil and Human Rights, The Future of the Inter-
American Human Rights System Working Paper #2 (2014).

7. Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, The United States and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in THE
SWORD AND THE SCALES: THE UNITED STATES AND INTERNATIONAL COURTS AND TRIBUNALS (Cesare
P.R. Romano ed. 2009).

8. Victor Abramovich, From Massive Violations to Structural Patterns: New Approaches and Classic
Tensions in the Inter-American Human Rights System, 6 SUR JOURNAL 7 (2009).

9. Victor Rodriguez-Rescia and Marc David Seitles, The Development of the Inter-American Human Rights
System: A Historical Perspective and a Modern-Day Critique, 16 N.Y.L. SCH. J. HUM. RTS. 593 (2000).
SESSION II: STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT

1. Tara Melish, Protecting Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in the Inter-American Human Rights
System: A Manual on Presenting Claims, 113-212 (Center for International Human Rights, Yale Law
School, 2002).

2. Francisco Rivera Juaristi, The Amicus Curiae in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (1982-2013),
available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2488073.

3. Rosa M. Celorio, The Rights Of Women In The Inter-American System Of Human Rights: Current
Opportunities And Challenges In Standard-setting, 65 U. MIAMI L. REV. 819 (2011).

4. American Civil Liberties Union, Request for a thematic hearing on the human rights implications of
communications surveillance in the US and other OAS Member States (August 16, 2013).

5. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union Of Puerto Rico, And
The International Human Rights Law Clinic At American University Washington College Of Law,
Request For Precautionary Measures Under Article 25(2) Of The Commission's Rules Of Procedure
Against The United States Of America On Behalf Of Celina Adon Reyes; Antonia Brito; Heather Chittum;
Miriam Cruz; Maritza De La Cruz; Haydee Escalera; Francisca Figueroa Trinidad; Alfredo Gaya
García; Kayra Ilarraza Vázquez; Blanca Iris Cintrón; Eufrasio (“William”) Mejía; Victoria De Jesús De
Gómez; Laura Mota-Vásquez; And Alida Paca De Jesús (April 2010).

6. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report on Immigration in the United States: Detention
and Due Process, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.Doc. 78/10 30 (December 2010).

7. Juan Mendez, United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment, letter to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Executive Secretary
Emilio Alvarez Icaza, Hearing on the human rights situation of detainees at Guantánamo Naval Base,
United States (October 28, 2013).

8. Rashida Manjoo, United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences, Submission to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Hearing on Jessica
Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States (October 27, 2014).

SESSION III: LEVERAGING SUCCESS/IMPACT
1. Open Society Justice Initiative, The Inter-American Human Rights System, in From Judgment to Justice,
Implementing International and Regional Human Rights Decisions (2011).

2. Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States, Petition 242-05, Inter-Am CHR, Report No. 43/10,
Admissibility (March 17, 2010).

3. Wayne Smith, Hugo Armendariz, et al. v. United States, Case 12.562, Inter-Am CHR, Report No. 81/10,
(July 12, 2010).

4. Sarah Paoletti, Pursuit of a Rights-Based Approach to Migration: Recent Developments at the UN and the
Inter-American System, 14 HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEF 14 (2007).
5. Francisco Quintana, Inter-American Court condemns unprecedented situation of statelessness in the
Dominican Republic, European Network on Statelessness (October 2014), available at
http://www.statelessness.eu/blog/inter-american-court-condemns-unprecedented-situation-statelessness-
dominican-republic.

6. Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States, Case 12.626, Report No. 80/11, Inter-Am CHR,
OEA/Ser./L/V/II.128 Doc. 19 (July 21, 2011).

7. Brief of the New York City Bar Association, et al. as Amici Curiae in support of Plaintiffs-Appellants,
Valdez et al. v. The City of New York, 960 N.E.2d 356 (N.Y. 2011).

8. Lenora Lapidus, The Role of International Bodies in Influencing U.S. Policy to End Violence Against
Women, 77 FORDHAM L. REV. 529 (2008).

9. Elizabeth M. Schneider, Implementing the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' Domestic
Violence Ruling, 46 CLEARINGHOUSE REV. J. OF POV. L. AND POL. 113 (2012).

10. Austin, Texas, City Council Draft Resolution Recognizing Freedom from Domestic Violence as a Human
Right (2014).

SESSION IV: STRATEGIC CONVERSATION ON OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
1. Jamil Dakwar, The United States and Human Rights in the Americas: Establishing Credibility and
Legitimacy Through Action, 7 APORTES DPLF 42 (2014).

2. Francisco J. Rivera Juarista, U.S. Exceptionalism and the Strengthening Process of the Inter-American
Human Rights System, 20 HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEF 19 (2013).

3. James L. Cavallaro & Stephanie Erin Brewer, Re-Evaluating Regional Human Rights Litigation in the
Twenty First Century: The Case of the Inter-American Court, 102 AM. J. OF INTL L. 768 (2008).

4. Ariel Dulitzky, The Inter-American Human Rights System Fifty Years Later: Time for Changes, Special
Edition, QUEBEC J. OF INTL L. 128 (2011).

5. Center for Justice and International Law, The Selection Process of the Inter-American Court and
Commission on Human Rights: Reflections on Necessary Reforms, Position Paper No. 10 (2014).

6. Santiago Canton, The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: 50 Years of Advances and the New
Challenges, AMERICAS QUARTERLY (2009).

7. Viviana Krstisevic & Alejandra Vicente, What More Is Needed to Strengthen the Inter-American Human
Rights System?, 7 APORTES DPLF 35 (April 2014).

8. Letter from Bringing Human Rights Home Lawyers’ Network Inter-American Working Group (Joann
Kamuf Ward and Sarah Paoletti) to Ambassador Carmen Lomellin and Deputy Permanent Representative
William J. McGlynn (May 7, 2012).
ANNEX

Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Human Rights in the United States: Primer on
Recommendations from the Inter-American Commission and the United Nations (2013).

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Organization of American States: http://www.oas.org/en/default.asp
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/index.php/en
Inter-American Institute of Human Rights:
https://www.iidh.ed.cr/multic/default_12.aspx?contenidoid=2a68e759-f2e8-4e09-bbcc-
2127009cc2b5&Portal=IIDHen
Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute: http://web.law.columbia.edu/human-rights-institute
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL): https://cejil.org/en
International Justice Resource Center: http://www.ijrcenter.org/
American Civil Liberties Union: https://www.aclu.org/
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights: http://rfkcenter.org/
University of Pennsylvania Transnational Legal Clinic: https://www.law.upenn.edu/clinic/transnational/
A D
MERICAN ECLARATION
R D M *
OF THE IGHTS AND UTIES OF AN
Whereas:

The American peoples have acknowledged the dignity of the individual, and
their national constitutions recognize that juridical and political institutions,
which regulate life in human society, have as their principal aim the protec-
tion of the essential rights of man and the creation of circumstances that will
permit him to achieve spiritual and material progress and attain happiness;

The American States have on repeated occasions recognized that the essen-
tial rights of man are not derived from the fact that he is a national of a cer-
tain state, but are based upon attributes of his human personality;
The international protection of the rights of man should be the principal
guide of an evolving American law;

The affirmation of essential human rights by the American States together
with the guarantees given by the internal regimes of the states establish the
initial system of protection considered by the American States as being suit-
ed to the present social and juridical conditions, not without a recognition on
their part that they should increasingly strengthen that system in the interna-
tional field as conditions become more favorable,

The Ninth International Conference of American States

Agrees:

To adopt the following
* Adopted by the Ninth International Conference of American States, Bogotá, Colombia, 1948.
AMERICAN DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MAN | 1
A D
MERICAN ECLARATION
R D M
OF THE IGHTS AND UTIES OF AN
PREAMBLE
All men are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights, and, being endowed
by nature with reason and conscience, they should conduct themselves as
brothers one to another.

The fulfillment of duty by each individual is a prerequisite to the rights of all.
Rights and duties are interrelated in every social and political activity of man.
While rights exalt individual liberty, duties express the dignity of that liberty.

Duties of a juridical nature presuppose others of a moral nature which sup-
port them in principle and constitute their basis.

Inasmuch as spiritual development is the supreme end of human existence
and the highest expression thereof, it is the duty of man to serve that end
with all his strength and resources.
Since culture is the highest social and historical expression of that spiritual
development, it is the duty of man to preserve, practice and foster culture by
every means within his power.
And, since moral conduct constitutes the noblest flowering of culture, it is the
duty of every man always to hold it in high respect.
2 | HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM
C O
HAPTER NE
R
IGHTS
Article I. Every human being has the right Right to life, liberty and personal
to life, liberty and the security of his person. security.
Article II. All persons are equal before the Right to equality before law.
law and have the rights and duties estab-
lished in this Declaration, without distinction
as to race, sex, language, creed or any other
factor.
Article III. Every person has the right freely Right to religious freedom and
to profess a religious faith, and to manifest worship.
and practice it both in public and in private.

Article IV. Every person has the right to Right to freedom of investigation,
freedom of investigation, of opinion, and of opinion, expression and dis-
the expression and dissemination of ideas, semination.
by any medium whatsoever.

Article V. Every person has the right to Right to protection of honor,
the protection of the law against abusive personal reputation, and private
attacks upon his honor, his reputation, and and family life.
his private and family life.

Article VI. Every person has the right to Right to a family and to protec-
establish a family, the basic element of so- tion thereof.
ciety, and to receive protection therefore.

Article VII. All women, during pregnancy Right to protection for mothers
and the nursing period, and all children have and children.
the right to special protection, care and aid.

Article VIII. Every person has the right to Right to residence and move-
(cid:189)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:77)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:73)(cid:87)(cid:77)(cid:72)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:71)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:91)(cid:77)(cid:88)(cid:76)(cid:77)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:88)(cid:76)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:88)(cid:73)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:77)(cid:88)(cid:83)(cid:86)(cid:93)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:88)(cid:76)(cid:73)(cid:3) ment.
state of which he is a national, to move
about freely within such territory, and not
to leave it except by his own will.
AMERICAN DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MAN | 3