Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
The IACHR is the autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Americas. One of its duties is to receive and review complaints from individuals for human rights violations and to monitor human rights situations.
News from the IACHR:
– On August 28, 2023, the IACHR and its Office of the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) published their new thematic report on poverty, climate change, and Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (ESCER) in Central America and Mexico, in the context of human mobility. The report took into consideration for analysis Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Mexico was also included due to its geographical proximity and geopolitical importance. These countries, affected by poverty, inequality, and limitations on access to enjoyment of ESCER, are also affected by complex migratory phenomena. In addition to these factors, in some of these countries, there is political instability, armed conflicts, and civil wars, as well as the presence of authoritarian governments that promote an environment of repression.
The report covers many relevant issues, including the panorama of ESCER in Central America and Mexico, poverty and inequality as causes of human mobility, the climate emergency concerning human mobility, and the protection of ESCER in the context of human mobility. The report states that, although historically violence, insecurity, and natural disasters have been the main triggers for Central American migration, one of the biggest factors nowadays is the economic one. In this sense, the IACHR stated that poverty plays a leading role in the issue since people in situations of human mobility who have decided to leave their countries express that their decision is due to their need to find work, cover their essential needs, food, and other ESCER. Regarding climate change, the IACHR has noted that one of the population groups that are being affected primarily are the “frontline communities”, groups of people who are directly affected by climate change, such as rural communities that depend on their agricultural work.
The IACHR has made a series of recommendations to the States, which include adopting deliberate and concrete measures as a matter of priority to advance in guaranteeing the ESCER of all people, incorporating the perspective of gender equality and intersectionality into the framework of all measures, plans and policies to guarantee ESCER in the context of human mobility, and implementing economic and sustainable development policies that allow for the expansion of national social protection, poverty alleviation and hunger eradication programs, among others. The thematic report (in Spanish) can be found here and the press release (in Spanish) here.
