OAS Commission is funded by NGOs to support specific agendas

Some ideological positions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, linked to the OAS, may be related to the financing of the commission’s work by NGOs. To make matters worse, the funds received are directed to promoting specific agendas, said Maria Anne Quiroga, director of research at the Global Center for Human Rights, during his speech at a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies, at the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee, held this Thursday (05).

Among the NGOs found by the researcher are the Open Society Foundations (funded by George Soros), Freedom House, as well as companies such as Microsoft and Google. In relation to money coming from member countries, transfers from Spain, Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands were identified.

In April this year, the People’s Gazette showed that the commission embraced the abortion cause by supporting an event that discussed ways to expand access to abortion in Brazil. The IACHR also made a post on its social networks celebrating the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico. At the same time, the commission did not comment on reports of abuses by the STF.

The IACHR is financed in two ways: the first comes from an OAS fund and the second through contributions from member states and international NGOs. “They could contribute funds without defining their destination and, in this case, they would be directed to the work of the IACHR, in general. But they can also, and are increasingly doing so, specifically define what subject they will apply these funds to”, highlights Quiroga. The researcher adds that in this way, the IACHR is not free to allocate the funds as it wishes, but must direct them to subjects indicated by those who made the contribution.

Among the problems generated is the conflict of interests in the complaints handled by the court, when they receive money from countries that are favorable or opposed to the cases. The mobilization of funds for the production of thematic reports by the IACHR can also be another difficulty. “This can be seen in the preparation of projects with the states that respectively contributed to its publication. The success of these associations is seen in the reports, when they are sponsored by NGOs”, says the researcher.

Asked by federal deputy Caroline de Toni (PL-SC) about a possible solution for the IACHR to resume its powers without ideological influence, Quiroga believes that countries must drive this change, as they are the ones with the most power over international organizations.