The American Convention on Human Rights, also known as the Pact of San José, is an international

human rights instrument. It was adopted by many countries in the Western Hemisphere San José, Costa

Rica, on 22 November 1969. It came into force after the eleventh instrument of ratification (that of Grenada)

was deposited on 18 July 1978.

The bodies responsible for overseeing compliance with the Convention are the Inter-American Commission

on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, both of which are organs of

the Organization of American States (OAS).

Contents

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1 Content and purpose 2 Additional Protocols 3 Ratifications 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External links

Content and purpose[edit]

According to its preamble, the purpose of the Convention is "to consolidate in this hemisphere, within the

framework of democratic institutions, a system of personal liberty and social justice based on respect for

the essential rights of man."

Chapter I establishes the general obligation of the states parties to uphold the rights set forth in the

Convention to all persons under their jurisdiction, and to adapt their domestic laws to bring them into line

with the Convention. The 23 articles of Chapter II give a list of individual civil and political rights due to all

persons, including the right to life "in general, from the moment of conception",[1] to humane treatment, to a

fair trial, to privacy, to freedom of conscience, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, etc. The Article

15 prohibits "any propaganda for war and any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that

constitute incitement to lawless violence or to any other similar action against any person on any grounds

including those of race, color, religion, language, or national origin" to be considered as offence punishable

by law.[2] This provision is established under influence of the Article 20 of theInternational Covenant of Civil

and Political Rights. The single article in Chapter III deals with economic, social, and cultural rights. The

somewhat cursory treatment given to this issue here was expanded some ten years later with the Protocol

of San Salvador (see below).

Chapter IV describes those circumstances in which certain rights can be temporarily suspended, such as

during states of emergency, and the formalities to be followed for such suspension to be valid. However, it

does not authorize any suspension of Article 3 (right to juridical personality), Article 4 (right to life), Article 5

(right to humane treatment), Article 6 (freedom from slavery), Article 9 (freedom from ex post facto laws),

Article 12 (freedom of conscience and religion), Article 17 (right to family), Article 18 (right to the name),

Article 19 (rights of the child), Article 20 (right to nationality), or Article 23 (right to participate in

government).[3]

Chapter V, with a nod to the balance between rights and duties enshrined in the earlier American

Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, points out that individuals have responsibilities as well as

rights.

Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and IX contain provisions for the creation and operation of the two bodies responsible

for overseeing compliance with the Convention: the Inter-American Commission, based in Washington,

D.C., United States, and the Inter-American Court, headquartered in San José, Costa Rica.

Chapter X deals with mechanisms for ratifying the Convention, amending it or placing reservations in it, or

denouncing it. Various transitory provisions are set forth in Chapter XI.'

Additional Protocols[edit]

In the ensuing years, the states parties to the American Convention have supplemented its provisions with

two additional protocols.

The first, the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of

Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (more commonly known as the "Protocol of San Salvador"), was

opened for signature in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, on 17 November 1988. It represented an

attempt to take the inter-American human rights system to a higher level by enshrining its protection of so-

called second-generation rights in the economic, social, and cultural spheres. The protocol's provisions

cover such areas as the right to work, the right to health, the right to food, and the right to education. It

came into effect on 16 November 1999 and has been ratified by 16 nations (see below).[4]

The second, the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death

Penalty, was adopted at Asunción, Paraguay, on 8 June 1990. While Article 4 of the American Convention

had already placed severe restrictions on the states' ability to impose the death penalty – only applicable

for the most serious crimes; no reinstatement once abolished; not to be used for political offenses or

common crimes; not to be used against those aged under 18 or over 70, or against pregnant women –

signing this protocol formalizes a state's solemn commitment to refrain from using capital punishment in

any peacetime circumstance.