24 | Towards the Closure of Guantanamo 19. 20. 21. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 parties to the American Convention on Human Rights. 7 These obligations are considered to flow from the human rights obligations of Member States under the OAS Charter. 8 Articles 106 and 150 of the Charter authorize the Inter-American Commission to protect those human rights enunciated and defined in the American Declaration. This competence is expressly set forth in Article 1 of the Commission’s Statute, approved in 1979 by OAS General Assembly Resolution No. 447. 9 Member States have agreed that the content of the general principles of the OAS Charter is contained in and defined by the American Declaration, 10 as well as the customary legal status of the rights protected under many of the Declaration’s core provisions. Therefore, as a source of law and legal obligation, the United States must implement the rights established in the American Declaration in practice within its jurisdiction. 11 In this regard, according to the mandate given by the States to the IACHR under Article 20 of its Statute, the Commission has the power, in relation to Member States that are not parties to the American Convention on Human Rights, to examine communications submitted to it, and to make recommendations to the States in order to bring about more effective observance of fundamental human rights. 12 Therefore, in its decisions on individual cases, the Commission has repeatedly interpreted the American Declaration as requiring States to adopt measures to give legal effect to the rights contained in the American Declaration. 13 Further, given the basic human rights obligations set forth in the OAS Charter, and the Commission’s mandate to monitor compliance with Member State obligations in the area of human rights which is also reflected in the Charter, OAS Member States must comply in good faith with the Commission’s precautionary measures and with its recommendations more generally. See I/A Court H.R., Advisory Opinion OC-10/89 "Interpretation of the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man within the Framework of Article 64 of the American Convention on Human Rights”, July 14, 1989, Ser. A Nº 10 (1989), paras. 35-45. Charter of the Organization of American States, Articles 3, 16, 51. I/A Court H.R., Advisory Opinion OC-10/89 "Interpretation of the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man within the Framework of Article 64 of the American Convention on Human Rights”, July 14, 1989, Ser. A Nº 10 (1989), para. 41. See e.g. OAS General Assembly Resolution 314, AG/RES. 314 (VII-O/77), June 22, 1977 (entrusting the InterAmerican Commission with the preparation of a study to “set forth their obligations to carry out the commitments assumed in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man”); OAS General Assembly Resolution 371, AG/RES (VIII-O/78), July 1, 1978 (reaffirming its commitment to “promote the observance of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man”); OAS General Assembly Resolution 370, AG/RES. 370 (VIII-O/78), July 1, 1978 (referring to the “international commitments” of OAS member states to respect the rights recognized in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man). See IACHR, Report No. 80/11, Case 12.626, Merits, Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) et al., United States, July 21, 2011, paras. 115 and 117. Statue of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Article 20(b). IACHR, Report No. 80/11, Case 12.626, Merits, Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) et al., United States, July 21, 2011, para. 118. Organization of American States | OAS