The Inter-American Human Rights System: The Debate over its strengthening within the Organization of American States

This paper reflects on the discussions carried out during 2011 and 2012 within the Organization of American States about the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ procedures and how to strengthen the Inter-American human rights system. The paper shows that, while these debates are not new, the current discussion started in a complex and tense environment for the various actors of the Inter-American system. Then, rather than looking at the items on the agenda, the paper examines the cross-cutting problems or deficiencies that have emerged in the current discussion process. These problems are: how to finance the bodies of the Inter-American system; the system’s weakness due to its lack of universality; the conflicts between the Inter-American Commission’s mandate to promote and to protect human rights; the Inter-American Human Rights Commission’s autonomy to decide on countries’ recommendations; and, finally, the reluctance of the States to accept external guardianships or international supervision within a democratic context.