The Inter-American Institute of Human Rights is an independent international academic institution, created in 1980 under an agreement between the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Republic of Costa Rica. Today, the IIDH is one of the most important world centers for teaching and academic research on human rights, with a multidisciplinary approach and with emphasis on the problems of America.

The IIHR, located in San José, Costa Rica, supports the inter-American system of international human right protection and executes more than 50 local and regional projects for the dissemination of these rights among the principal non-governmental organizations, and among the public institutions of the Americas.

Its Statute defines it as an academic institution, which means that it refrains from investigating cases, presenting or supporting formal complaints against States, or monitoring the compliance of States with their international human rights obligations. This self-imposed limitation has proven to be an effective tool for the IIHR, as it has permitted the Institute to serve as a facilitator of dialogue among the different actors in the human rights movement and among them and the state authorities.