Mobilising the Inter-American Human Rights System: Regional Litigation and Domestic Human Rights Impact in Latin America

This chapter draws on theoretical insights from the literature on social movements and legal mobilisation to develop an analytical framework for understanding both how the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) fosters transnational litigation and how such mobilisation affects domestic human rights change. The chapter also empirically examines patterns of human rights litigation before the IAHRS, the System’s responses and the impact of such mobilisation. Building on the analysis of petition data, the chapter provides an in-depth qualitative assessment of key litigating human rights organisations in Peru, Colombia and Brazil. Overall, Engstrom and Low argue that organisations with a strategic vision that recognises both the potential and the limitations of the System are best placed to leverage IAHRS mechanisms and jurisprudence to achieve human rights impact