VIEQUES WOMEN'S ALLIANCE SEEKS AMICABLE NEGOTIATION WITH THE UNITED STATES BEFORE THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, AIMING FOR STATE RECOGNITION OF RESPONSIBILITY

29-11-2023

Alfredo Naim Navarrete Piter

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

The Vieques Women's Alliance (VWA) announced its intention to seek a friendly settlement with the United States of America (USA) before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) during a press conference on November 14, 2023. This decision follows the notification of the admission of petition 1561-13 by the IACHR. In this petition, the involved parties, including the VWA, raised allegations of multiple fundamental rights violations, encompassing issues such as life and health. These violations are attributed to military activities and exercises, which involved toxic chemicals and firearms, carried out by the USA armed forces on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, spanning the years 1941 to 2003.

According to the information provided in the report admitting the case, in the 1940s, the USA expropriated 75% of the territory of Vieques Island for military practices. According to the petitioners, this led to the forced displacement and evacuation of hundreds of Vieques families. Subsequently, the armed forces routinely bombed the island as part of military exercises, utilizing toxic chemicals such as napalm and white phosphorus in preparation for various incursions by the USA military in armed conflicts. A particularly relevant incident during these exercises involved a failed detonation that resulted in the loss of a resident's life on the island.

The petitioners also assert that the continuous exposure to toxic substances for over sixty years has had adverse effects on the health of the people of Vieques, the environment, and the island's economy. Notably, cancer and hypertension rates on the island exceed those in the rest of Puerto Rico, and individuals have been found to have toxic compounds such as mercury, lead, and arsenic in their bodies. Moreover, the water bodies are contaminated, and fishing, a primary economic activity on the island, is made hazardous for fishermen due to unexploded bombs in the sea. Finally, the petitioners highlight that despite the army's withdrawal in 2003 and the commencement of cleanup efforts, the USA government has been hesitant to complete the work. USA contends that, as of 2013, it had spent over $280 million on the island's cleanup, with 95% of the contaminated sites declared clean. They argue that military activities and the health conditions of the island's inhabitants are not causally linked.

After the legal actions against the USA armed forces were dismissed in the local federal courts and, ultimately, before the Supreme Court in September 2013, petition 1561-13 was subsequently filed before the IACHR. This petition was admitted for processing ten years later, in April 2023, and notification occurred four months thereafter, in September of the same year.

Despite the USA neither ratifying the American Convention on Human Rights nor signing the Protocol of San Salvador on economic, social, and cultural rights, the matter can be brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This is because the United States is a signatory to the Charter of the Organization of American States, making it a member of the OAS. Consequently, the provisions of the American Declaration of Human Rights and Duties of Man are applicable. Both the IACHR Commission and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights emphasize that the OAS Charter cannot be dissociated from the Declaration in matters related to human rights; it is the Declaration that provides its content. Similarly, Articles 20 and 23 of the Statute and Rules of Procedure of the IACHR respectively grant the Commission jurisdiction to hear individual petitions for violations of the Declaration.

Following an assessment of the case's merits and in accordance with Article 37.4 and 40 of the IACHR Rules of Procedure, the Commission extended an invitation to the involved parties to pursue a friendly settlement. This invitation's notification was publicly disclosed and acknowledged during the press conference convened by the VWA on November 14. Engaging in discussions with the relevant counterpart of the Secretary of State, the VWA aims to secure, within a timeframe not exceeding six months, the State's acknowledgment of its responsibility for violating various rights, including those to life, liberty, security, and integrity of the person (Article I), the right to freedom of expression (Article IV), the right to health (Article XI), and the right to work (XIV), among others.

Furthermore, the VWA seeks a public apology from the State, along with economic compensation and the establishment of a museum to commemorate the events in Vieques. In the event that no consensus is reached within the framework of the friendly settlement procedure, the IACHR will proceed to issue a resolution on the merits, as outlined in Article 43 of the Rules of Procedure.

Sources and further reading:

Alianza de Mujeres Viequenses (Director). (2023, November 14). Conferencia de Prensa: Reclamamos reparaciones en demanda internacional  por la contaminación ambiental en Vieques ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. https://www.facebook.com/p/Alianza-Mujeres-Viequenses-100064549365660

CIADH, Reglamento de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. 2009.

Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos admite demanda por daños de la Marina de Estados Unidos en Vieques (Case for damages in Vieques done by the US Navy) – Justice for Vieques Now. (2023, November 15). https://www.justiceforviequesnow.org/2023/11/15/comision-interamericana-de-derechos-humanos-admite-demanda-por-danos-de-la-marina-de-estados-unidos-en-vieques-case-for-damages-in-vieques-done-by-the-us-navy/

Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos admite demanda por daños de la Marina de Estados Unidos en Vieques. (2023, November 14). El Nuevo Día. https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/notas/comision-interamericana-de-derechos-humanos-admite-demanda-por-danos-de-la-marina-de-estados-unidos-en-vieques/

IACHR, ‘Informe No. 77/22 Petición 1561-13 Informe de admisibilidad Zaida Torres y Otros vs. Estados Unidos de América’.OEA, 2022.

OEA, ‘Estatuto de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos’. 2009, <https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/mandato/Basicos/estatutoCIDH.asp> [accessed 29 November 2023].

OEA. (2009, August 1). OEA - Organización de los Estados Americanos: Democracia para la paz, la seguridad y el desarrollo [Text]. https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/mandato/Basicos/introduccion.asp

Vieques: El oscuro episodio de los bombardeos sobre Puerto Rico que el ejército de EE.UU. realizó durante décadas—BBC News Mundo. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 November 2023, from https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-65630176