Part II Means of Protection, Ch.VII Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, s.1 Organization, Article 35

This chapter evaluates Article 35 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). Article 35 of the ACHR is the same provision as Article 2-2 of the Statute of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and is also found in Article 1-2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission. In requiring that the Commission must represent “all the member countries” of the Organization of American States (OAS), Article 35 of the Convention underlines the independence of the members toward their own State. Given that there are only seven members and thirty-five States members of the OAS, this clarification was required. This provision must be read in conjunction with Article 36 that indicates that the members of the Commission are elected in their personal capacity and not as representatives of their government. Overall, “these provisions at once isolate the commissioners from their governments and legitimize the actions of the Commission as actions of the OAS itself.”