The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Diego García-Sayán call on the States of the region, as part of the measures and initiatives adopted to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, to guarantee the widest access to justice as a fundamental means of protecting and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Commission and the UN Special Rapporteur stressed the importance of access to justice for the protection of human rights and as an essential pillar of the rule of law. In the context of the pandemic, in several countries in the region, the judiciary has adopted various measures aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19, which has had a major impact on its functioning, and consequently on access to justice.