VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS 326. In light of the analysis and the conclusions set forth in this report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights delivers the following recommendations to the States members of the OAS: A. General recommendations pertaining to State policy 1. States should adopt the judicial, legislative, administrative and other measures required to correct the excessive use of pretrial detention, ensuring that this measure is used exceptionally and is governed by the principles of legality, presumption of innocence, necessity and proportionality, thereby avoiding the arbitrary, unnecessary and disproportionate use of this practice. These principles shall always guide the conduct of judicial authorities, regardless of the criminal system model adopted by the State. 2. Step up efforts and muster the political will necessary to eradicate the use of pretrial detention as a tool of social control or a form of anticipated sentence and to ensure that it is used as a truly exceptional measure. In this regard, it is fundamental to send an institutional message of support from the highest levels of the State and the judiciary for the rational use of pretrial detention and for the respect of the right to the presumption of innocence. 3. The IACHR urges authorities to use pretrial detention as an eminently exceptional measure and to opt instead for alternative measures whenever possible. In this regard, the IACHR calls upon the States to implement strategic plans to train and raise awareness among judicial authorities and those in charge of criminal investigations, about the exceptional nature of pretrial detention, the use of alternative measures to guarantee appearance for trial, and other international and constitutional standards on this subject. Above all, it urges the States to foster a change in the judicial culture and practice so as to bring a shift in thinking concerning the applicability and need for pretrial detention. 4. Analyze the real impact that the excessive use of pretrial detention has on crime. Based on that information, redirect public policy to make the exceptional nature of pretrial detention one of the centerpieces of policies on crime and citizen security, and avoid hardline criminal justice systems that end up imprisoning individuals during criminal proceedings in response to demands for citizen security. 5. Urgently adopt the measures needed to correct the procedural backlog and reverse the high percentage of persons deprived of liberty

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