Latin America lives in complex times, says president of the CourtIDH

The president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), Uruguayan Ricardo Pérez Manrique, affirmed that Latin America is experiencing complex times due to the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on people’s rights, but also due to “authoritarian drifts” that have recently been submitted.

“The region is experiencing a special moment because we are suffering the consequences of the covid-19 crisis, which has targeted issues such as economic, social and cultural rights, but which has involved a rethinking of some democracies in the region, especially there was a wave of strong social protests demanding improvements from the governments,” Pérez Manrique said in an interview with Efe.

The judge, who assumed the presidency of the court this week for a period of two years, commented that the protests that have been seen in the region “showed that the democracies had difficulties integrating all the voices in order to seek solutions to the problems”.

In addition to these social conflicts, Pérez Manrique said, in recent years “we have seen clear authoritarian drifts in the region and places where there are alarms about human rights violations.”

“Faced with this complex situation, the Inter-American Court is going to maintain a firm course regarding the application of the American Convention and international human rights law,” he said.

One of the countries where there has been a greater alert on human rights recently is Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega was re-elected last November in an electoral process rejected by the majority of the international community due to the imprisonment of opponents, including presidential candidates.

Judge Pérez recalled that the Inter-American Court issued provisional measures last year ordering the release of the prisoners within the framework of the electoral process and proposed a visit to the site, however, the Nicaraguan State did not abide by the court’s pronouncements.

Nicaragua “has responded that it is not bound by the decisions of the Court, which is a very exceptional situation and it must be admitted that it exists and is a big problem, not only for the Court but for the inter-American system,” Pérez said.

The president of the Inter-American Court assured that he has perceived the support of the great majority of the countries of the region for the work of the court and emphasized the need to preserve the solidity of the system, which he considers a world example.

“There will always be discordant voices and there will always be questions, but the important thing is to maintain the solidity and firmness of the system that is an example in the region and the world. Other regional courts consider our jurisprudence to make decisions,” he declared.

Pérez Manrique added that “it is important that this court can remain outside and above the political debates that take place in most countries and can be seen as a place for the exchange of ideas where everyone is heard and where decisions are adopted. fairer decisions or more adjusted to the law”.

The president of the Inter-American Court celebrated that this 2022, 3 of the 7 judge positions correspond to women, the largest female representation that the court has ever had.

The new judges are the Costa Rican Nancy Hernández, the Argentine Verónica Gómez and the Chilean Patricia Pérez.

For the president of the Inter-American Court, the court must continue to promote plurality and also engage more closely with the countries by holding hearings in various cities in the region.

Pérez Manrique also highlighted the importance of the Court’s rulings, as well as the advisory opinions and provisional measures, because he considers that they have promoted changes in legislation and policies in the region for the benefit of the rights of the population.

He recalled that the Inter-American Court was born in times of dictatorships in the region and that for years its cases were related to crimes of those times, but that currently the court’s sentences cover a broader spectrum, such as violations of the rights of the community. sexually diverse, judicial independence, freedom of expression, democratic and cultural rights, such as indigenous populations. (I)