Preface Since its creation, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has devoted special attention to the situation of persons deprived of liberty in the Americas. From its first special country reports on Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and in the more recent ones, on Jamaica and Colombia, the Inter-American Commission has been referring consistently to the rights of persons deprived of liberty. Visits to detention centers have been a constant feature in the more than 90 on-site visits that the Commission has carried out in the last 50 years. In addition, the Inter-American Commission has adopted a large number of reports on the merits in contentious cases and has granted a large number of precautionary measures aimed at protecting persons deprived of liberty in the Americas. The Inter-American Commission has determined that respect for the rights of persons deprived of liberty is one of the main challenges faced by the member States of the Organization of American States. It is a complex matter that requires the design and implementation of medium and long-term public policies, as well as the adoption of immediate measures necessary to address the current and urgent situations that gravely affect fundamental human rights of the inmate population. In this context, one of the main challenges faced by the vast majority of the States in the region is the excessive use of pretrial detention. Due to the importance and complexity of this matter, the Inter-American Commission, through its Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, presents this report with the objective of helping the member States of the OAS fulfill their international obligations, and to provide a useful tool for the work of those institutions and organizations committed to the promotion and defense of the rights of persons deprived of liberty. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights highlights and recognizes the work of Commissioner Rodrigo Escobar Gil, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty, in directing the efforts to produce this report. In addition, the Commission thanks the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice for its contribution to this report by researching and analyzing the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on the issue of pretrial detention. The preparation of this report was possible thanks to the valuable financial support of the Government of Spain.