Protecting human rights from the global spread of organised crime

Description

The Inter-American Human Rights System Approach to Organised Crime: Balancing the rights of perpetrators, victims and perpetrator as victims

Both the Inter-American Court and Commission have dealt with cases involving aspects of organised crime. For example, the Inter-American Court has assessed breaches of the rights of alleged organised crime perpetrators, particularly in the context of arraigo (for example, Tzompaxtle Tecpile et al. v. Mexico, 2022), while the Inter-American Commission has investigated how to secure the rights of vulnerable individuals, including children, as states pursue increasingly aggressive criminal governance approaches in the course of halting the deleterious impacts of organised crime (for example, IACHR, Organized Crime and the Rights of Children, Adolescents and Young People, 2023). 



Historically, the Inter-American Human Rights System has been pivotal in helping to progress human rights norms based on regional experiences.  For example, following the period of authoritarian regimes, the System developed a strong victim-centred approach with positive obligations to prevent harm and investigate disappearances to ensure closure for families. This approach to outlining positive obligations is reflected, too, in more recent approaches to defending indigenous rights and protecting human rights in the context of environmental degradation. Responses to organised crime present many of the past dilemmas faced by the Court and Commission, including how to balance the individual rights of those accused of criminal activities and those impacted by the ever-growing organised international criminal enterprises.   



Responding to organised crime is a global challenge but one that is particularly acute in Latin America.  Given the Inter-American System's history of progressively developing human rights standards in response to its regional experiences, this paper investigates how the Inter-American Court and Commission are conceptualising the human rights risks related organised crime and the standards they are creating to prevent the breach of some of the most fundamental human rights.  A particular focus will be how the Inter-American System is navigating its historically victim-centred approach whilst protecting the rights of perpetrators accused of involvement with organised crime. In this sense, we will explore the various dimensions of victimhood presented through these institutions and how human rights norms are strengthened and challenged when used to develop the narratives of breaches of human rights linked to organised crime.

Period	12 Sept 2025
Event type	Conference
Location	Lima, PeruShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International