ISHR grows stronger despite criticism

Santiago Canton spoke through Skype

Santiago Canton, former executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said that the Inter-American System of Human Rights (ISHR) has been strengthened in the region, despite the attempts of some ‘totalitarian’ governments to weaken it.

During the Seventh Annual Conference on the Universal Day of Human Rights, carried out in the Convention Center of Guayaquil, Canton, through a Skype videoconference, said that the system has achieved “global impact” for the defense of the rights in times of dictatorship and democracy. He added that after the creation of the ISHR several attempts have been taken to affect it, but it did not materialize thanks “to the exemplary role that governments have in the region and the role of civil society.”

“Fortunately, democratic leaders in the region put a limit to the authoritarian aspirations of President (Rafael) Correa and drove him back, prioritizing sanity and respect for human rights above ignorance and authoritarianism,” remained Canton.

The former official of the Commission explained that the reason that the leader of the Ecuadorian regime faced the Inter-American System were the initiatives of the Commission to stop the executive attempts to affect “the freedom of expression of the Ecuadorian people.”