Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition

Join us tomorrow for the final panel of the Academy on Human Rights’ Human Rights Month Speaker Series at American University Washington College of Law, focused on addressing human rights in times of crisis 🌎⚖️

Our next discussion is titled “The Prohibition of Torture: Recent Developments at the United Nations.”

For decades, the United Nations has played a central role in the global fight against torture through a variety of complementary mechanisms focused on prevention, accountability, victim support, and the development of international standards. These institutions have contributed significantly to strengthening the international legal framework prohibiting torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

This panel will bring together leading experts from key United Nations anti-torture mechanisms to reflect on recent developments, achievements, and ongoing challenges in the prevention and eradication of torture worldwide. Drawing on their experiences within different UN bodies and initiatives, the panelists will discuss the evolving role of international institutions in promoting compliance with the prohibition of torture and advancing the rights of victims.

Featuring:

• Claude Heller – Chairperson, United Nations Committee Against Torture

• Juan E. Méndez – Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

• Jens Modvig – Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture

• Gayethri M. Pillay – Head of Secretariat, Convention Against Torture Initiative (CTI)

• María Luisa Romero – Chairperson, United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture

Moderated by:

• Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón – Co-Director, AUWCL Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

The panel will be conducted with simultaneous interpretation available in English and Spanish.

Please remember to bring your own device and headphones in order to benefit from the interpretation services.

Registration in advance is required. Please RSVP here for this and the other panels that are part of Human Rights Month:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfk4AYLdjLW7J-WmDT-KASpwZ1nEearqJltibjUWyAdwEl1Tw/viewform?usp=preview

We look forward to seeing you there as we conclude this year’s Human Rights Month Speaker Series.

Join us tomorrow for the eighth panel of the Academy on Human Rights’ Human Rights Month Speaker Series at American University Washington College of Law, focused on addressing human rights in times of crisis 🌎⚖️

Our next panel is titled “Reparation Measures in the Inter-American Human Rights System in Cases of Violence and Discrimination against Women and Girls: An Examination of Their Monitoring and Compliance Status.”

Over the past two decades, the Inter-American Human Rights System has played a critical role in advancing international standards on gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls. Through the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, important standards have emerged regarding States’ obligations to prevent, investigate, punish, and redress human rights violations.

This panel will explore the transformative role of reparations in addressing both individual harm and the structural conditions that perpetuate violence and discrimination. The discussion will examine current challenges related to the implementation, monitoring, and compliance of reparation measures ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and recommended by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Particular attention will be given to access to justice, guarantees of non-repetition, accountability mechanisms, and opportunities to strengthen compliance with decisions aimed at protecting the rights of women and girls across the Americas.

Featuring:

• Luz Patricia Mejía – Technical Secretary, Organization of American States’ Follow-Up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI)

• Florencia Reggiardo – Director for the Andean, North America, and Caribbean Region Program, Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

• Patsilí Toledo Vásquez – Member, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

• Selene Soto Rodríguez – Member, Latin American Network for Gender-based Strategic Litigation (ReLeG)

Moderated by:

• Carmen Ponce Moreda – Research Fellow, AUWCL Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Opening remarks:

• Claudia Martin – Professorial Lecturer in Residence and Co-Director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and Co-Founder of ReLeG

The panel will be conducted with simultaneous interpretation available in English and Spanish 🎧.

Please remember to bring your own device and headphones in order to benefit from the interpretation services.

Registration in advance is required. Please RSVP here for this and the other panels that are part of Human Rights Month:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfk4AYLdjLW7J-WmDT-KASpwZ1nEearqJltibjUWyAdwEl1Tw/viewform?usp=preview

We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us tomorrow for the sixth event of the Academy on Human Rights’ Human Rights Month Speaker Series at American University Washington College of Law 🌎⚖️

We are pleased to invite you to a special screening of Dos Mundos: What Passes Between, an ongoing multimedia documentary project that shares the intimate stories of four mothers from El Salvador and Honduras who migrated to the United States in search of safety, opportunity, and a better future for their families.

Through personal narratives that span borders and generations, the project explores the lasting impact of migration on families and communities in both the United States and their countries of origin. The documentary examines themes of family separation, identity, sacrifice, resilience, and belonging, offering a deeply human perspective on migration in the Americas.

The screening will feature two short documentary films that together form the complete experience:

• De Sueños (Of Dreams) – 13:39 minutes
• Estados Unidos era mi Mamá (The United States Was My Mom) – 14:42 minutes

Following the screening, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a conversation about migration, family, and the human stories behind contemporary migration movements in the region.

Featuring:

• Olga Jaramillo – Independent Visual Storyteller and creator of the Dos Mundos project

• Ernesto Castañeda – Director of American University's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS)

Please join us tomorrow at American University Washington College of Law.

Registration in advance is required:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfk4AYLdjLW7J-WmDT-KASpwZ1nEearqJltibjUWyAdwEl1Tw/viewform?usp=preview

We look forward to seeing you there!

To conclude the 2026 Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition, we would like to thank everyone who participated. It was inspiring to see how all 44 teams addressed this year’s issue, “The Right to Protest Under International Human Rights Law.” We welcomed teams from 21 different countries, giving us the opportunity to hear perspectives from around the world.

We would also like to thank the authors of this year’s case—Angelita Baeyens, Sofia Jaramillo Otoya, and Leandro Leo Rebelo—for the dedication and countless hours they invested in making it a success. In addition, we extend our gratitude to the Staff of the Human Rights Academy and the Technical Committee volunteers; without your hard work and commitment, this competition would not have been possible.

It has been an honor to meet all of you and witness your dedication to the advancement of human rights. We are excited to see where your bright futures take you and the positive change you will bring to the world. See you next year!

We want to extend our thanks to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for inviting IAMOOT26 participants and faculty to their headquarters and awarding certificates of recognition to the finalists for their outstanding performance. We also want to thank Maria Claudia Pulido, IACHR Assistant Executive Secretary, for joining us in the final!