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 seven chapters and has been prepared in accordance with Resolution 331 (VIII-0/78) of the General Assembly and Article 63 of the Regulations of the Commission.

Chapter I is a 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 1998.

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 twenty-eighth 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 "The petitions system and individual cases." This chapter contains various 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 sections on the evolution of the situation of human rights in Cuba, Haiti and Paraguay for the purpose of analyzing the situation of human rights in those countries during the period covered by this report.

In Chapter V, the Commission presents a progress report of the Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Ecuador, published in 1997.

In Chapter VI the Commission presents a Report of the Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a Progress Report on the Situation of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families in the Hemisphere, an Update Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, and a Report of the Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child.

In Chapter VII, the Commission presents its recommendations to member states in areas in which steps need to be taken towards full observance of the human rights set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights.