Mr. Almagro’s decision strongly affects the independence and autonomy of one of the OAS’ main organs, on the one hand, by ignoring IACHR’s rules of procedure and the decision of the Commission’s plenary, which in January of this year had voted unanimously for the renewal of the Executive Secretary’s mandate; and, on the other hand, the fact of expressing his refusal to renew Mr. Abrão’s contract on his last day, leaves the IACHR without a person in charge of the Executive Secretary de facto, which results in a serious obstacle to the work of the IACHR.
The FIDH and its member organisations in the Americas reject the communication addressed to the Secretary General by the OAS’ legal affairs secretariat, noting that IACHR’s rules of procedure do not bind the Secretary General, as they seek to dissociate not only the Secretary General from his obligations, but can also be used by the States to disassociate themselves from the procedures before the Inter-American Human Rights System.
Therefore, our organisations warn about the consequences that this type of intromission may have over the work of the IACHR and recall that the OAS must first and foremost be the guarantor of the independence and the autonomy of the IACHR, as a pillar to continue advancing in the observation and defence of human rights in the Americas.