This Monday, March 6 at 2:15 pm Los Angeles time, our Initiative will participate in the 186th Session of the Commission, requesting a series of crucial measures to maintain the connections between these two issues in the region.

From March 6-10 in Los Angeles, California, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hold its #186th Session. During the first day of this important event, the organizations that are part of our Initiative will hold a thematic hearing on Fiscal Policy and the Guarantee of Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (ESCR) in the region.

The session, which will take place at the University of California at 2:15 pm (Los Angeles time), is of utmost relevance, as it will show evidence of the centrality of fiscal policy for the guarantee of human rights, will recall the fiscal tools that States have to advance the guarantee of ESCR, will demonstrate the progress that the region has made in this area, and will ask the IACHR to adopt concrete measures to facilitate such progress.

For our Initiative, the measures should be focused on the adoption of a thematic resolution on fiscal policy and human rights that promotes the operationalization of our Human Rights Principles on Fiscal Policy in the framework of the Inter-American System, which makes concrete recommendations for States to adopt fiscal policies aligned with their human rights obligations, and that provides an inter-American reading of the Principles, with a view to the production of a possible thematic report on these issues.

The key role of the Inter-American System

This is based on several premises: that without adequate public resources, the material fulfillment of rights would be impossible; that fiscal policy is key to closing the gaps between individuals and groups and to incentivizing or discouraging behaviors that are necessary to ensure the guarantee of ESCR (such as taxes on sugary drinks about the right to health); and that fiscal policy is also linked to the strengthening of democracy and the fight against corruption, which confirms its importance for all human rights.

Thus, the organizations that are part of our Initiative insist that considering fiscal policy is relevant to implement decisions of the Inter-American System. The IACHR has identified the lack of economic resources as one of the most important challenges for States to implement its decisions. Likewise, the lack of financial capacity of the States is understood by the Commission as an obstacle to the fulfillment of compensation measures for victims, rehabilitation measures and truth and justice measures.

For these reasons, our Initiative values the progress made by the Inter-American System in connecting fiscal policy and human rights. Many of these advances have been led by the current Special Rapporteur for Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA), Soledad García Muñoz, whose work has been central in this area. 

However, we find that the region is still missing out on the enormous potential of public finances to make decisive progress in the materialization of its normative commitments at the Inter-American level in the area of human rights.

For example, in the region, there is still poor coordination between Ministries of Finance and state agencies with competence in the area of human rights, while it is estimated that tax collection about average GDP for Latin America is far below the estimate for OECD countries (21.9% for the former, compared to 33.5% for the latter). The regressive nature of the region's tax systems must be added to this problem of insufficient resources, which explains why the poorest sectors bear a proportionally greater burden.

In short, under these conditions, most fiscal policies in Latin America do not facilitate public investment that would enable the progressive and egalitarian realization of ESCR, and prevent the States from moving with the speed required by the current crises, such as the one generated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the increase in the cost of living or the climate emergency.

This situation results in a systematic violation of the obligations imposed by the Inter-American Human Rights System on States Parties, such as the obligation to guarantee the exercise of all rights in conditions of real equality for all persons and to adopt, to the maximum available resources, all measures necessary to that end.

A favorable scenario for the hearing

In 2023, there will be new and unique opportunities to have clear and consolidated inter-American standards that will allow us to capitalize on the Commission's legacy in this area and have the IACHR as a natural reference for the protection and promotion of human rights in the region.

We highlight, for example, the historic resolution issued by the UN General Assembly in November 2022, which recognized the importance of strengthening international tax cooperation between States and requested the preparation of a report with the next steps to achieve it. Then, there is also the call by the government of Colombia to hold the first Latin American Summit for global, inclusive, sustainable and equitable taxation, which, in our concept, will allow mobilizing the maximum available resources to finance the economic, social, cultural and environmental rights recognized by the American and international instruments.

How to watch the hearing?

If you want to find out what happens during this hearing, you can follow the broadcast on the IACHR website and the minute-by-minute updates on our Twitter account.   

About our Initiative

The Initiative for Human Rights Principles in Fiscal Policy is made up of eight organizations working in Latin America and the Caribbean, including ACIJ, CELS, CESR, Dejusticia, Fundar, Inesc, Red de Justicia Fiscal and GI-ESCR. Collectively, we seek to develop and promote a compendium of principles and guidelines that synthesize human rights standards applicable to tax policy.

About our Principles

The Principles for Human Rights in Tax Policy demonstrate the wealth of existing standards that connect tax policy and human rights, and the importance of applying those standards to achieve meaningful progress in the realization of rights, especially for certain groups. Thus, among other things, they point out concrete measures that can be taken to eliminate gender discrimination and promote substantive gender equality; indicate the need to allocate sufficient resources for historical reparations for indigenous and Afro-descendant populations; and indicate concrete steps to assess the fairness and transparency of tax benefits in line with human rights commitments. The Principles also guide what constitutes fair taxation and fair budgeting. In addition, they detail the fiscal reading of enhanced ESCR obligations, such as the use of maximum available resources, progressive realization, or guarantee of essential levels of rights.