Seminar: Restrictions and suspension of rights and the consequences in the context of COVID-19

San José, Costa Rica, June 5, 2020 

Today the Seminar was held: Restrictions and suspension of rights and their consequences in the framework of COVID-19, within the framework of the Series of Inter-American Conferences organized by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. During the Seminar, more than 2,500 attendees of 21 nationalities from America and Europe participated.

At the opening of the Seminar, Judge Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor (Mexico) recalled that "aware of this reality, on April 9, the Inter-American Court issued Declaration 1/2020, on Covid-19 and Human Rights, outlining a series of problems and challenges arising as a result of the pandemic. It also established that the States’ responses must be approached from a human rights perspective. Emergency measures should not serve as a pretext for human rights abuses and violations,” Judge Ferrer recalled.

In addition, he pointed out that, although the Court has not faced a situation similar to this pandemic through its case law, “in its more than four decades of existence, the Court has established specific criteria that must be met when it comes to both a suspension of and a restriction or impact on rights”, highlighted the Judge of the Inter-American Court.

“As we know, in article 27 the American Convention itself establishes the possibility of suspending certain rights. The treaty indicates that in “time of war, public danger or other emergency that threatens the independence or security of a State Party, it may take measures derogating from its obligations under the present Convention to the extent and for the period of time strictly required by the exigencies of the situation”. At the same time, it provides that in no case can these provisions be incompatible with the other obligations imposed by international law and cannot be discriminatory based on race, color, sex, language, religion or social origin,” Judge Ferrer said.

The following panelists participated in the Seminar:

• Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor (Mexico), Judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Moderator).
• Sabrina Ragone (Italy), Professor of Comparative Law, University of Bologna.
• Elizabeth Salmon (Peru), Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and Executive Director of Idehpucp, Peru.
• Pedro Salazar (Mexico), Manager of the Legal Research Institute, National Autonomous University of Mexico.
• Catalina Botero (Colombia), Dean, Faculty of Law, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.
• Javier García Roca (Spain), Professor of Constitutional Law, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.
• Alexandra Huneeus (United States), Professor, University of Wisconsin.
• Laura Pautassi (Argentina), Principal Investigator CONICET-School of Law, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Miriam Henríquez (Chile), Dean, Faculty of Law, Alberto Hurtado University.

The Seminar has been made available on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights YouTube Channel at this link  https://youtu.be/tvUwBZXz5ZU.