The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law, in collaboration with the Latin American Network for Gender-based Strategic Litigation (ReLeG), is pleased to announce the publication of the new report “Reparations Measures in the IAHR System: Cases of Violence and Discrimination against Women and Girls,” developed as part of the ACTUEMOS initiative to end violence against women, led by UN Women in partnership with the European Union. 

Access the full report here (available only in Spanish). 

The report was authored by:

• Selene Soto Rodríguez, an attorney specializing in women’s rights and a member of ReLeG; and
• Claudia Martin, Professor in Residence, Co-Director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law, and co-founder of ReLeG.

The report also benefited from research contributions by Carmen Ponce Moreda, Research Fellow at the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law. 

This report examines the overall state of compliance with reparations measures ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), as well as recommendations issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in cases involving violence and discrimination against women and girls in the Americas, with a particular focus on access to justice. The analysis covers the decisions published on the official websites of both bodies through April 30, 2025.

To this end, the cases were selected and systematized based on the general criterion of including decisions in which a legal analysis of human rights violations under the Belém do Pará Convention was conducted. With regard to cases before the IACtHR that are currently in the monitoring stage, a total of 36 judgments involving 13 countries were identified, with particular emphasis on Guatemala an Mexico, which account for the largest number of cases. Before the IACHR, 6 cases involving 5 countries were identified, based on the information available from the IACHR’s Office of the Rapporteur on the Rights of Women and the cases included in the chapter on case monitoring in its 2024 Annual Report. 

Based on its findings, the report –while not exhaustive– seeks to provide an initial snapshot that contributes to furthering the discussion on the impact and compliance with reparations measures within the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS), offering a specific perspective on cases of violence and discrimination against women and girls. 

Thus, while the research acknowledges its own methodological limitations, including the broader context in which the challenges faced by the IAHRS bodies in monitoring and following up on States’ compliance with reparations measures are situated, as well as the limitations of a primarily quantitative analysis based on binary metrics for assessing the broader impact these measures may have had, the findings reveal a concerning reality that highlights the significant challenges that persist in the region with regard to impunity and access to justice in the face of widespread and systemic violence against women and girls. 

In this regard, the report identifies opportunities to strengthen the monitoring carried out by IAHRS bodies of theses structural forms of violence and, in particular, puts forwards general proposals addressed to the IACtHR and the IACHR, as well as to MESECVI, aimed at strengthening coordination among the various bodies of the Inter-American system. 

Through this report, we hope to contribute to the debate and ongoing efforts to strengthen the monitoring and effectiveness of reparations measures within the IAHRS, as well as to promote more effective responses to violence and discrimination against women and girls in the Americas.