Washington, D.C. September 24. Together with more than 20 organizations, the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights will participate October 1-5 in the 169^th Period of Public Hearings held by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) at the University of Colorado in the city of Boulder in the United States.

During the period of sessions, Race & Equality will participate in three (3) public hearings requested by organizations from Colombia, Cuba, and Nicaragua by speaking on the state of human rights in each of these countries to rapporteurs of the IACHR and international community.  In the case of Cuba and Nicaragua, the hearings are aimed at presenting cases of criminalization and repression of activists, journalists, [and] human rights defenders by the national governments of their countries in the midst of the political crises unleashed [and ongoing] to date.  In the case of Colombia, the hearing is aimed at describing and denouncing the state of human rights of the Afro-Colombian people.

The Inter-American Commission holds several periods of sessions each year, in which hundreds of human rights defenders from the region participate, along with delegations from the States comprised of high-level authorities in the field of human rights [and] academics, among others.  In accordance with what is established by Article 68 of IACHR Regulations, the hearings are public and interested parties can freely attend without the need to register beforehand.  The hearings are broadcast online in several languages on the official IACHR website.

Below we present the schedule of the public hearings on Colombia, Cuba, and Nicaragua in which Race & Equality will participate.