USEFUL
LinkS
Central
America
- Comisión
Nacional para el Mejoramiento en la Administración de Justicia –CONAMAJ-
CONAMAJ is made up by representatives of Costa Rica’s main institutions of
justice. Its goal is to try to
provide the means, procedures, and activities to facilitate the coordination
of programs undertaken by the country’s judicial institutions, as well as
to increase the efficiency of labor and resources to achieve a rational,
transparent and harmonious administration of justice.
·
Fundación Arias (Arias
Foundation) The Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress is a non-profit
organization devoted to the construction of fairer and peaceful societies in
Central America.
o
Center
for Human Progress The purpose of the Center is to promote equality of opportunities for
women and gender equity for the Central American population. It proposes to
achieve these goals by means of a process involving research, dissemination,
education and communication.
o
Center for Peace and Reconciliation The Center for Peace and
Reconciliation (CPR) seeks to promote pluralistic participation in the search
for and consolidation of strategies to achieve lasting peace and security.
o
Center for Organized Participation The purpose of the Center for
Organized Participation is to strengthen the participation and actions of civil
society in Central America by working together with civil society organizations
to consolidate their proactive role in the development of the region.
·
Ministerio
de la Defensa Nacional de El Salvador Ministry of Defense of El Salvador.
·
PeaceWorks PeaceWorks
is a New Jersey nonprofit tax-exempt organization which works to aid the peoples
of the Americas and seeks progressive change in our nation. Our continuing mission: To embrace the people of the Americas
in Nicaragua,
El Salvador, Guatemala or in our own communities in the United States, in common struggle
for justice, human rights, and sustainable economies; to work in our
communities to inform
ourselves and the public about Latin America and to help forge a progressive
movement for change, empowering people to act for justice throughout the
Americas; to recognize that their fight is our fight, their destiny is our
destiny as the global economy weaves a fabric of interdependence.
General
- Center
for International Policy. Security in Latin America: Central America
Since its founding in 1975, the Center for International Policy has earned a
reputation for hard-hitting analysis and effective advocacy on a range of
issues. Staff members include former senior diplomats and intelligence
officers as well as younger academics and activists. This pairing of
senior-level insiders with outsiders is key to the Center's success over the
years, for it gives staff access to key decision-makers in the executive and
legislative branches and credibility with the media, all essential to
effective advocacy in Washington. Promoting human rights has been one of the
overarching themes of the Center's work. Rather than human rights
monitoring, which a number of organizations do so well, the Center has tried
to spotlight the causes of abuses and has advocated policies to reduce
violations. Another related theme has been promoting peaceful diplomatic
rather than military solutions to foreign policy conflicts in the Third
World.
- European Court of
Human Rights The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms was drawn up within the Council of Europe. It was
opened for signature in Rome on 4 November 1950 and entered into force
in September 1953. The object of its authors was to take the first steps for
the collective enforcement of certain of the rights stated in the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
In addition to laying down a catalogue of civil and political rights
and freedoms, the Convention set up a system of enforcement of the
obligations entered into by Contracting States. Three institutions were
entrusted with this responsibility: the European Commission of Human Rights
(set up in 1954), the European Court of Human Rights (set up in 1959) and
the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the latter organ being
composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the member States or their
representatives.
- Organization
of American States –OAS- More
than fifty years ago - on April 30, 1948 - 21 countries of the hemisphere
met in Bogotá, Colombia, to adopt the Charter of the Organization of
American States (OAS), which affirmed their commitment to common goals and
respect for each nation’s sovereignty. Since then, the OAS has expanded to
include the nations of the Caribbean, as well as Canada.
- Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is one of two bodies in
the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human
rights. The Commission has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The other
human rights body is the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which is
located in San José, Costa Rica. The
IACHR is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Its mandate is found in the OAS Charter and the American Convention on
Human Rights. The IACHR represents all of the member States of the OAS. It
has seven members who act independently, without representing any
particular country. The members of the IACHR are elected by the General
Assembly of the OAS.
- Inter-American
Court of Human Rights –IACHR- The IACHR is an autonomous judicial
institution within the Inter-American System of Human Rights.
Its objective is to apply and to interpret the Inter-American
Convention on Human Rights. The
IACHR was established through that Convention, with the main goal of
solving the cases of presumed violations of the human rights protected by
the Convention.
- Secretariat
for Legal Affairs The Secretariat for Legal Affairs of the
General Secretariat of the Organization of American States is one on the
principle areas of the General Secretariat of this Organization. The
structure, functions and responsibilities of this Secretariat are set out
in Executive Order 96-4 issued by the Secretary General of OAS on May 13,
1996. The Secretariat is comprised of the following components:
- United Nations UN
links to international treaties, international legislation, the
International Criminal Court, the Law of the Sea, International Trade Law,
and other documents.
- International
Court of Justice The Court has jurisdiction
to consider cases referred to it by any Member State of the United Nations
or by any State which is a party to its Statute; to reply to requests for
Advisory Opinions from authorized bodies or specialized agencies of the
United Nations. It follows
that the Court cannot consider cases
submitted to it by private individuals (Article 34 of the
Statute); all correspondence of an official nature must be sent by post or
fax; the Court does not hold training programmes or organize summer
courses.