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Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Limit: XX delegates
Committee Chairs
IACHR Description
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is the organ of the American States Organization (OAS) in charge of the promotion and protection of human rights in the Americas. As a delegate you will debate cases that involve human rights violations perpetrated by a State. There are three main positions in IACHR: petitioners, state and judges. As a petitioner, your role is to defend the alleged victim in the case using different conventions, such as the American Convention to prove that their rights were violated. As a member of the State, you have to prove that the actions committed in the case were legal, based on different aspects, such as the country's own laws; you are also in charge of looking for loopholes in the treaties that could absolve the state from the responsibility. As a judge, your job is to listen to both benches' arguments to ask questions that will be relevant to the case. In IACHR you will improve your teamwork abilities, as you have to work in benches to prove your arguments through the evidence you research.
CASE A: Girón et. al v. Guatemala
On April 18, 1993, Roberto Girón and Pedro Castillo Mendoza took four-year-old Sonia Marisol Álvarez García away to sexually assault her near her residence; subsequently they brutally murdered the little girl with a machete. The alleged offenders were sentenced to death penalty. Before the execution, the case was presented to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in favor of the offenders due to irregularities found in the trial. But the Supreme Court of Guatemala dismissed the petition of the Commission for precautionary measures to suspend the execution of the individuals. Despite their efforts for amnesty, Mr. Girón and Mr. Castillo were executed on live television by a firing squad on September 13, 1996.
This case is about the alleged unfair trial of Mr. Girón and Mr. Castillo, that was submitted by the petitioners to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on July 5, 2017. The petitioners argued the State did not provide a fair trial or judicial protection as the victims were unrepresented at fundamental proceedings, represented by inexperienced and ill-prepared law students. They also alleged that execution by firing squad was inhumane. The state argues all aspects of the judicial process and alleged violations were carried out in accordance with the law. Also Guatemala has no treaty obligations in the abolition of the death penalty.
The IACHR determined that several articles of the American Convention were violated in the trial of Girón and Castillo such as: Art. 4 (Right to life), Art. 5 (Right to Humane treatment) Art 8. (Right to a fair trial). As a delegate, it is your responsibility to find out more details of the original trial. Look up for more articles and conventions that could apply for this case.
CASE B: Santo Domingo massacre v. Colombia
On December 13, 1998, during Colombia's armed conflict. In the village of Arauca, the Colombian air force dropped a cluster bomb during a military operation. This device killed 17 civilians, including 6 children, and left 20 others injured. At first the Colombian government tried to play it off as a guerilla bomb, but after investigation by human rights organizations,forensics experts, and international observers it revealed that the bombing was carried out by the Colombian military using a U.S supplied cluster bomb, Known as a “Rockeye” bomb, which by the international humanitarian law was deemed to be prohibited in civilian areas. The case was brought to the inter-american court of human rights by the families of victims and human rights organizations. The court determined that Colombia was guilty for the dead and injured civilians. for their unlawful use of force in a populated area. They also concluded that the government 's claims, blaming The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia for the attack, were false.
The IACHR pronounced the state of Colombia guilty in violation of several articles in the American Convention on Human Rights, these included the right to life (Article 4), personal integrity (Article 5), the rights of children(Article 19), and judicial protection (Article 25). In the ruling the IACHR ordered Colombia, to give financial compensation, provide reparations, medical and psychological treatment for the injured, acknowledgement of responsibility, and improve their military protocols for prevention of future incidents. As a delegate you're supposed to research this case thoroughly and come up with related articles,laws, and relevant information that tie in with the case.