The Bahamas is celebrating a significant diplomatic achievement following the election of distinguished human rights legal professional and advocate Marion Bethel to the Inter-American Fee on Human Rights (IACHR). Bethel was elected throughout the fifty fifth Common Meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS), held final week in Antigua and Barbuda. She is going to serve a three-year time period from 2026 to 2029.
The announcement was made by the Ministry of International Affairs, with Director Common Jerusa Ali extending congratulations by way of social media. “Ms Bethel is a globally acknowledged advocate for the rights of Bahamian and Caribbean ladies and women, with intensive expertise in human rights regulation, being a working towards legal professional since 1986,” Ali wrote.
Bethel brings many years of authorized and advocacy expertise to the fee. She beforehand served two phrases on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Towards Girls (CEDAW) and was elected vice-chairperson and rapporteur of the committee in 2023.
Past her authorized work, Bethel can also be a famous cultural contributor. She directed the award-winning documentary Womanish Methods: Freedom, Human Rights & Democracy, which chronicles the Bahamian ladies’s suffrage motion and has been featured at worldwide poetry and movie festivals.
The IACHR, an autonomous physique of the OAS, is tasked with selling and defending human rights all through the Americas. Its seven commissioners are elected by the OAS Common Meeting and serve in a private capability, not as representatives of their dwelling international locations.
Bethel’s election is being hailed as a win not only for The Bahamas however for the broader Caribbean area, including a strong voice to the hemisphere’s main human rights physique.
