The United States criticized the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on March 13 for holding a thematic hearing on U.S. counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, saying the commission acted beyond its mandate.
According to the statement, the U.S. government said that the IACHR allowed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to use the hearing as an opportunity to try to force premature disclosure of arguments and evidence in two cases currently pending before U.S. federal courts. The statement argued that these matters concern international humanitarian law rather than human rights law, which falls outside of IACHR's competence.
"The IACHR lacks the competence to review the matters at issue, which concern the interpretation and application of international humanitarian law, not human rights law, and should not be a pawn in a domestic litigation strategy of the ACLU or any other party," said the statement.
The United States called on the commission to follow its Statute and Rules of Procedure in future actions and avoid involvement in issues under active domestic litigation or outside its human rights mandate. The statement warned that such hearings could undermine "the credibility of the inter-American human rights system" instead of strengthening it.
Additionally, the U.S. urged the commission to focus on addressing individual petitions that have been pending for years. "This Commission owes it to those petitioners to address their concerns in a timely manner," said the statement.
The broader implication is a call for international bodies like IACHR to remain within their established roles and procedures, especially when legal proceedings are ongoing domestically.
