On October 4, 2012, International Human Rights Clinic students Gloria Lee, Katherine Krassilnikoff, and Sophia Areias submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights three proposals with recommendations on strengthening the Inter-American Human Rights System. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is currently reflecting on how it might improve its methods, procedures, and practices so that they achieve its two main objectives: promotion and protection of human rights in our region. To that end, the Inter-American Commission requested observations and recommendations from all relevant actors, including Member States, NGOs, academics, and human rights clinics.
In that context, students from Santa Clara Laws International Human Rights Clinic suggested that the Commission (1) work with civil society organizations to ultimately reduce the Commissions workload by utilizing technology to educate and raise awareness about procedural and admissibility requirements; (2) increase online visibility by adding a tab entitled Present a Precautionary Measure Request on the Commissions homepage, and (3) train National Human Rights Institutions to review individual petitions in order to reduce the amount of inadmissible petitions the Commission receives and thus reduce the backlog of petitions.
General information on the reform process of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights can be found here.
The recommendations submitted by students from Santa Clara Laws International Human Rights Clinic can be found here.
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