Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade extends hearty congratulations to Commissioner Margarette Maculay on being elected as President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Photo from left to right:
The President, Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay (Jamaica); as First Vice President, Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño (Panama); and as Second Vice President, Commissioner Roberta Clarke (Barbados).
In welcoming this announcement, the Minister shared, “As we celebrate International Women’s Day today, the announcement of Mrs. Macaulay’s election as President of the Board of Directors on March 7 is welcomed news, as she is well known and is a strong advocate for women’s rights. Not only will Mrs. Macaulay serve as President for the second time, but she will be leading an all-woman board of directors and the first with all-women from the Caribbean and Central American countries.”
The Minister continued, “Jamaica sincerely values the work of the IAHCR in promoting and protecting human rights. The valuable service of Mrs. Macaulay on the Commission and her ongoing work to improve the operations and the efficiency of this body in the service to member states and the people of the region is truly commendable. As a representative of the Caribbean, we look forward to her continued service to achieve the mandate of the Commission during her final year.”
The IACHR Chair-elect will serve as President for a period of one year, and will preside over the session of the Commission and represent the Commission before the other organs of international organizations and institutions.
Mrs. Macaulay is an attorney in private practice and a mediator in the Supreme Court of Jamaica. She was a judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 2007 to 2012. She is also an honourable member of the Legacy Wall for Gender Justice for women’s rights advocates, which has achieved significant changes, and was launched in December 2017 at the United Nations in New York during the Assembly of Ministers. The IACHR was created by the OAS IN 1959, and is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (“OAS”).
