Amidst the human rights crisis in the Americas, what role can and should the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights play?

Join the discussion (in Spanish) with current members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS) that promotes and protects human rights in the Americas. The IACHR also exercises oversight over the United States, since the U.S. is a member of the OAS.

We will be joined by Commissioners José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez, Paulo Vannuchi, Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli, and Enrique Gil Botero. An introduction will be provided by IACHR President and SLS Professor James Cavallaro. The discussion will be moderated by Mirte Postema.

This event will be in Spanish and will be held at Bolivar House at the Center for Latin American Studies. Lunch will be served.

Biographies of the speakers

Commissioner José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez is a citizen of Mexico. He was elected during the 39th regular period of sessions of the OAS General Assembly in June 2009 for the standard four-year term, which began on January 1, 2010. On June 6, 2013, the General Assembly reelected him for a second term, which will begin on January 1, 2014 and end on December 31, 2017. He was elected President of the Commission during the 144th Period of Sessions, in March 2012, and reelected during the 147th Period of Sessions, in March 2013. He is a researcher in constitutional law, human rights, the judiciary, and comparative law, among other areas, at the Legal Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Previously, he served for 16 years as a Magistrate on Mexico’s highest electoral courts, first in the Central Chamber of the Federal Electoral Court and then in the Higher Chamber of the Electoral Court of the Judiciary. He earned a Doctor of Law degree with honors from UNAM, and a Master of Comparative Law from the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as Doctor Honoris Causa for San Martín de Porres University in Peru, and for the Autonomous University of Coahuila, Mexico. He is the author or co-author of 8 books and the coordinator or editor of another 15, and he has written more than 100 articles for academic publications.

Commissioner Paulo Vannuchi is a citizen of Brazil. He was elected during the 43rd regular session of the OAS General Assembly in June 2013 for the prescribed four-year term, which began on January 1, 2014. Paulo Vannuchi is a political and union consultant. During his youth, he was imprisoned for five years due to his activities in the resistance to the military dictatorship in Brazil. He studied journalism at the University of São Paulo, where he received a Master’s Degree in Political Science. He was a member of the team that conducted the investigation “Brazil: Never Again”; was a cofounder of the Cajamar Institute; and was a political adviser to the national office of the Workers Party of Brazil. He also served as Executive Secretary of the National Coordinating Committee of the Lula for President Campaign in 1994 and 2002. He held various posts, including that of President, at the Citizenship Institute, coordinated by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He served as Human Rights Minister in the Lula Government, between December 21, 2005 and December 31, 2010, as well as President of the Human Rights Defense Council; the National Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labor; and of the National Committee to Prevent and Combat Torture in Brazil. He is the author of articles and publications on political science and human rights, among other topics.

Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño is citizen of Panama. She was elected on June 16, 2015, by the OAS General Assembly, for a 4-year mandate that starts on January 1, 2016 and ends December 31, 2019. She has a degree in Philosophy, Letters, and Education, as well as in Law and Political Science, sigma cum laude. She joined the Special Commission for the 2011-2012 Constitutional Reforms in Panama and was Magistrate of the Supreme Court from 2004 to 2009. She currently puts together teams of trainers in the Accusatory Criminal System for the Public Prosecutor’s Office and at the inter-institutional level.

Commissioner Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli is citizen of Peru. He was elected on June 16, 2015, by the OAS General Assembly, for a 4-year mandate that starts on January 1, 2016 and ends December 31, 2019. He has a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, with a master’s degree in Constitutional Law and a PhD in Humanities. He was Ambassador of Peru to the Kingdom of Spain from 2012 to 2014 and Minister of the Office of Justice. He is currently a legal consultant and adviser at both the national and international level, specializing in issues related to Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and Human Rights.

Commissioner Enrique Gil Botero is a citizen of Colombia. He was elected on June 16, 2015, by the OAS General Assembly, for a 4-year mandate that starts on January 1, 2016 and ends December 31, 2019. He has a degree in Law and Political Science from Antioquia University. He was Magistrate of the Colombian State Council, a trial lawyer before the Chamber for Administrative Litigation from 1984 to 2006, a founding member of the Institute for Civil and State Responsibility of Antioquia, and President of the Council of State from April 2008 to February 2009. He received the José Ignacio de Márquez gold medal as the best judge of the Court of Administrative Law in Colombia, 2009. He is professor of Liability Extra-Contractual of the state at several universities in Colombia and lectures nationally and internationally. Furthermore, he has been judge of important rulings related on the protection, defense and redress for redress for violations on human rights. He is author of several works on tort law, constitutional law and a treaty of Liability Extra contractual of the State, with translation in French, as well as on articles in magazines and publications on the subject of human rights and state responsibility.