PRESS RELEASE

Nº 19/01 

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) wishes to make public that on August 3, 2001, Dean Claudio Grossman, current President of the IACHR, was named as its observer for the trial in the criminal case concerning the bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita (AMIA) in Argentina scheduled to begin on September 24, 2001.  

The Commission is currently processing petition 12.204, filed on June 16, 1999, concerning that bombing, which took place on July 18, 1994 in the city of Buenos Aires.  The attack against the headquarters of the AMIA left more than 80 victims dead and hundreds of victims injured.  The Commission appointed Dean Grossman in response to a  proposal by the Government of the Republic of Argentina to name an observer for this trial. 

The Commission values the attitude of the Argentine State, and wishes to express its appreciation to both the petitioners and the State for the collaboration that has been received and that will be forthcoming in this regard. 

Dean Grossman is a Chilean Lawyer.  He graduated from the University of Chile and received his doctorate from the University of Amsterdam, Holland. He is Dean of the Law Faculty of American University, a recognized expert on the inter-American human rights system, and the author of numerous specialized publications.  Dean Grossman has been a member of the IACHR since 1994.  He was elected to chair the Commission in 1996 and was re-elected as a Commissioner in 1997.  He has served as the Commission’s delegate in numerous cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and has participated actively in on-site visits and in numerous friendly settlement proceedings.  In addition, he has served as Rapporteur for Women’s Rights and is currently Rapporteur for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  In 2001, he was re-elected President of the CIDH. 

The IACHR is an autonomous organ of the OAS responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Hemisphere. The seven members of the Commission are elected in their personal capacity by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) for a four-year period. The Commission’s attributions are fundamentally based on the American Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of the OAS, instruments ratified by the Republic of Argentina.