15 convictions was recorded in June 1997, which, according to the State,, had decreased to 48 70% in January 1998; Colombia, where, in late 1997, 45.85% inmates of a prison 49 population of 43,221 had not received convictions; Mexico, where in mid-1996, of a prison population of approximately 116,000, more than half were being held in pretrial 50 detention; and Ecuador, which in early 1994 had a prison population of some 9,280 51 inmates, of whom 70% were awaiting trial or sentencing. 41. The excessive use of pretrial detention has also been one of the issues addressed by the IACHR in its analyses of serious human rights situations in the region and, by means of its annual reports, the Commission follows up on the recommendations issued in its country reports (Chapters IV and V). In this context, the IACHR has followed up on this situation in countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, 52 Ecuador and Guatemala. Additionally, the excessive use of pretrial detention in the region has also been addressed on many occasions at the thematic hearings held by the 53 IACHR, and it has been a recurring factor in a large number of individual petitions involving claims related to persons deprived of liberty and/or due process. 48 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in the Dominican Republic, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.104 Doc. 49 rev. 1, adopted October 7, 1999, Ch. VI, para. 216. 49 IACHR, Third Report on the Human Rights Situation in Colombia, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.102 Doc. 9 rev. 1, adopted February 26, 1999, Ch. XIV, para. 15. 50 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Mexico, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.100 Doc. 7 rev. 1, adopted September 24, 1998, Ch. III, paras. 222 and 229. 51 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Ecuador, OEA.Ser.L/V/II.96 Doc. 10 rev. 1, adopted April 24, 1997, Ch. VI. 52 IACHR, Annual Report 2011, OEA/Ser.L/V/II Doc. 69, adopted December 30, 2011, Ch. IV: Venezuela, para. 519; IACHR, Annual Report 2010, OEA/Ser.L/V/II Doc. 5 corr. 1, adopted March 7, 2011, Ch. IV: Venezuela, paras. 706 and 836(11); IACHR, Annual Report 2009, OEA/Ser.L/II Doc. 51 corr. 1, adopted December 30, 2009, Ch. IV: Haiti, para. 407, and Venezuela, para. 512; IACHR, Annual Report 2008, OEA/Ser.L/II.134 Doc. 5 rev. 1, adopted February 25, 2009, Ch. IV: Haiti, paras. 285 and 317(3); IACHR, Annual Report 2007, OEA/Ser.L/II.130 Doc. 22 rev. 1, adopted December 29, 2007, Ch. IV: Haiti, paras. 193-197 and 220(2); IACHR, Annual Report 2006, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.127 Doc. 4 rev. 1, adopted March 3, 2007, Ch. IV: Haiti, paras. 118 and 220(3) and Venezuela, para. 202; and IACHR, Annual Report 2002, OEA/Ser.L/II.117 Doc. 1 rev. 1, adopted March 7, 2003, Ch. IV: Cuba, paras. 34 and 37, Ch. V: Guatemala, paras. 161-164; IACHR, Annual Report 2001, OEA/Ser./L/V/II.114 Doc. 5 rev., adopted April 16, 2002, Ch. V: Paraguay, paras. 50-54, Peru, paras. 113 and 114, and Dominican Republic, paras. 56-58; IACHR, Annual Report 2000, OEA/Ser./L/V/II.114 Doc. 5 rev., adopted April 16, 2001, Ch. IV: Cuba, para. 54(b); IACHR, Annual Report 1998, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.102 Doc. 6 rev., adopted April 16, 1999, Ch. IV: Cuba, paras. 54 and 55, Haiti, paras. 27 and 30, Ch. V: Ecuador, paras. 97-104 and 146; IACHR, Annual Report 1997, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.98 Doc. 5, adopted February 17, 1998, Ch. V: Guatemala, para. 31, and Haiti, paras. 16-18. 53 In addition to the two specific hearings organized by the IACHR in connection with this report, the use of pretrial detention was also addressed at other hearings, including: Situation of Human Rights of Women Deprived of Liberty in Bolivia, 147th regular period of sessions, organized by the Legal Office for Women (OJM), Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM), Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), March 15, 2013; Situation of Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in Venezuela, 147th regular period of sessions, organized by the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory (OVP), March 16, 2013; Human Rights Situation of Persons Deprived of Liberty in Uruguay, 144th regular period of sessions, organized by Legal and Social Studies Institute of Uruguay (IELSUR), March 27, 2012; Human Rights Situation of Persons Deprived of Liberty in Honduras, 144th regular period of sessions, organized ex officio by the IACHR, State of Honduras appearing, March 26, 2012; Situation of the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty in Mexico, Continues…