First Latin-American Data Base on Human Rights Standards

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS) with the assistance of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation presented today the first data base (https://www.iuslat.com/#search-advanced/content_type:2/*), with open and free access, to the decisions of the Commission and Court of Human Rights, the result of a joint project that was commenced in 2019.

The repository of the jurisprudence of the human rights organs of the OAS on the platform IUSLAT of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation permits an intelligent and rapid search for the decisions and standards developed by the organs of the Inter-American system.  The platform also contains constitutional jurisprudence concerning human rights standards from national tribunals throughout Latin America.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in recent years has failed routinely to translate its judgments into English for lack of funds, although some leading cases are now being translated. The new data base, although in Spanish, accepts the entry of terms in English, such as "military jurisdiction" and provides responses from cases that exist in English.  The jurisprudence of the Inter-American system on the issue of military jurisdiction is now easily accessible.

Given that the US and Canada are both member states of the OAS, it is curious that they are not dominant in the creation or support of this project.  Germany, as a party to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, understands the importance of a strong regional system for the protection of human rights in Europe and in other regions.