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The judge added that it is necessary to “firmly defend those who fight for these values and remember that the power conferred by the people is to serve.
The president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), Costa Rican Nancy Hernández, warned on Tuesday that the region is facing a democratic decline and the presence of dictatorships, stating that power is “to serve and not to oppress.”
“Our region faces challenges such as poverty, inequality, violence, climate change, the uncontrolled advance of artificial intelligence, the migration crisis and the democratic decline that threatens the progress of more than half a century,” Hernández said in a speech during an event commemorating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the IACHR.
The judge stressed that the IACHR has been an “agent of profound transformation” in the Americas with an “unwavering commitment to defending democracy,” and called for the protection of those who fight for their freedoms and rights in the region.
“In the face of democratic regression, we cannot remain silent in the face of dictatorships or attempts to silence those who call for freedom and democracy, especially when they seek to silence the popular will expressed at the polls,” Hernandez said without mentioning specific cases.
The judge added that it is necessary to “firmly defend those who fight for these values and remember that the power conferred by the people is to serve, not to oppress.”
The history of the IACHR
Hernández reviewed the history of the IACHR and stated that it is currently one of the most important institutions in the Americas and enjoys broad legitimacy.
“Justice has found its home here,” said the judge, who recalled that, through its rulings, the IACHR has responded to core problems in the region, has provided reparation to victims and has set historic precedents.
Hernández gave as an example that currently almost all States in the region prohibit forced disappearance in accordance with the standards stipulated by the IACHR and that with their rulings and resolutions they have allowed countries to address the structural causes of violations so that they are not repeated.
He also recalled rulings such as Barrios Altos v. Peru, in which the IACHR determined that amnesty and statute of limitations provisions that seek to prevent the investigation and punishment of those responsible for serious human rights violations are inadmissible.
Hernández emphasized that the IACHR has evolved and has provided justice in the face of violations of the rights of indigenous peoples, migrants, persons deprived of liberty, persons with disabilities, children, the elderly, LGBTI persons, among others.
The IACHR was founded in 1969 with the signing of the American Convention on Human Rights, but it was not until 1978 that the General Assembly of the Organization of American States defined Costa Rica as its headquarters, where a year later the court was officially installed with Costa Rican Rodolfo Piza Escalante as its first president.
In 1982, the IACHR issued its first advisory opinion on which treaties could be subject to interpretation by the high court, and in 1988 it issued its first ruling in which it condemned Honduras for the forced disappearance of Ángel Manfredo Velásquez Rodríguez.
High-ranking officials from Costa Rican state powers, ambassadors, and former judges of the court such as Manuel Ventura, Elizabeth Odio, and Chilean Cecilia Medina, who in 2008 was the first woman to preside over the IACHR, participated in Tuesday’s official event.
Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André called on States to work for the “continuous strengthening” of the IACHR and stressed that “in the midst of a turbulent time in the region, Costa Rica became a beacon of hope” so that the court could begin to operate.
