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.

The institutional mission. Our mission is to promote and strengthen respect for the human rights set out in the American Convention on Human Rights and contribute to the consolidation of democracy in the Americas through education, research, political mediation, programs for training, technical assistance in the field of human rights, and the dissemination of knowledge by means of specialized publications. Its endeavors are guided by the principles of representative democracy, the rule of law, ideological pluralism and respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms.

Politically, the work of the IIHR is predicated on the idea that the effective exercise of human rights is only possible within the framework of representative, participatory and inclusive democracy. In other words, the IIHR holds that there is a close relationship between the full exercise of political democracy and the effective exercise of human rights. In order to achieve this, it is necessary that democracy transcends what is merely formal and is made effective for vast sectors of the population that are currently marginalized.

In methodological terms, the IIHR bases its work on three principles: human rights viewed from an integrated, interdisciplinary and multisectorial approach.

Cross-cutting themes. The current administration of the IIHR has implemented a strategy that prioritizes four themes: justice and security; political participation; education in human rights; and the effective exercise of economic, social, and cultural rights.

The institutional strategy includes, in addition, addressing these subjects taking into account three cross-cutting perspectives: gender equity; recognition and preservation of ethnic and cultural diversity; and providing opportunities for participation on civil society and its interaction with the State.