INTRODUCTION

        The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has the honor to submit its report to the General Assembly, in compliance with the provisions of Article 53.f of the Charter of the Organization of American States.

        This report contains five chapters and has been prepared in accordance with Resolution 331 (VIII-0/80) of the General Assembly and Article 63 of the new Regulations of the Commission.

        Chapter I is a brief summary of the Commission's origin and juridical bases.  This chapter also contains a brief account of the Commission's relationship with other organs of the inter-American system and regional and global institutions of a similar nature during 1990-1991.

        Chapter II refers to the activities undertaken by the Commission during the period covered by this report.  Emphasis is placed on the Commission's principal activities, as well as the subjects it dealt with and the most important measures taken during its various sessions.  It includes the participation of the Commission in the twentieth regular session of the General Assembly as well as the resolutions adopted by this organ in relation to the work of the Commission in the field of human rights.

        Chapter III is entitled "Reports on Individual Cases."  This chapter contains several decisions adopted by the Commission regarding specific cases presented to it, which the Commission processed in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.

        In Chapter IV the Commission has included special reports on developments in the human rights situation in Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, and Suriname, all of which have been the subject of previous Commission reports, in order to examine developments in the observance of human rights in these countries during the period encompassed by this report.

        In Chapter V, the Commission has prepared a study on those areas in which the States must take measures to improve the observance of human rights, in furtherance of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights.  Here the Commission will address the issues of democracy and human rights, and irregular armed groups and human rights.

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