Even before the pandemic, Latin America was facing significant human rights challenges. The collapse of Venezuela has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis with 11 million Venezuelans displaced, a historic number of Latin American women took to the streets to protest gender-based violence, and the World Bank estimates that climate change could generate 17 million displaced individuals by 2050, disproportionately affecting Latin America’s vast indigenous populations. The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States. The Commission upholds the American Convention on Human Rights, and meets regularly to investigate violations of human rights in the hemisphere. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights was established to interpret the Convention. In this event, we will speak Dinah Shelton, former president of the Commission, about human rights questions in the Americas, how the Commission and the Court act to promote and protect human rights in the Hemisphere, challenges both institutions face, and how the United States could better support the OAS's mission on human rights and democracy.

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Foreign Affairs with Future Leaders is a series of youth-led discussions which analyze various international issues and topics by collaboratively addressing their most critical questions. They are co-hosted by the Onero Institute and the Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Fraternity and Sorority at GWU.