Abstract

The paper explores the 2016 financial crisis experienced by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as an illustrative example within a larger context for rethinking the Inter-American System of Human Rights. We argue that reform must involve a reexamination of the dialectic roles of both member states and Inter-American institutions. The goal is to create new institutional opportunities that can cope with the current contexts of rights violations related to inequality, poverty and income distribution. It is also argued that different human rights narratives are at play within the context of the Inter-American System today, that is, the universalistic narrative of Ius Constitutionale Commune and the less explored story of member states resisting compliance with Inter-American decisions. These narratives are connected to the tension between the main goal of protecting human rights in the Americas and the member states’ roles as the System’s material supporters. The prevalence of the unidirectional and institutionalist narrative of Ius Constitutionale Commune may have contributed to the current challenges experienced within the Inter-American System. Member states have rebelled in recent times against this universal approach, particularly since the later years of the first decade of the 2000s. However, the Inter-American institutions continue to be nonresponsive to this backlash. This paper argues that rather than treating states as entities to be kept under strict surveillance and mistrust, the Inter-American System should be changed and reimagined through dialogue and a deeper consideration of domestic contexts, thus enabling its survival, and encouraging member states to participate at higher levels.

Keywords:
Inter-American System of Human Rights; financial crisis; Ius Costitutionale Commune; member states; reform