March 3, 2009 -- The United States of America nominated Professor Dinah L. Shelton to serve as a member of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission for a four-year term beginning in January, 2010.  Professor Shelton is the first woman nominated by the United States for this Commission. The election will be held during the regular session of the Organization of American States General Assembly, to take place during the first week of June in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was created in 1959 by the OAS with the principal function of promoting the observance and the defense of human rights in the OAS member states. Located in Washington, D.C., the IACHR is distinguished from other multilateral organizations' human rights entities by its political autonomy. Its seven commission members are elected in their own right, not as representatives of governments. IACHR autonomy is further enhanced by its prerogative to initiate human rights investigations. The IACHR also publishes special reports, which have been effective in challenging abuses in specific countries.

Human rights in the inter-American system are based on the 1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights.

Professor Shelton is the Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law at the George Washington University Law School. She joined the Law School faculty in 2004. Before her appointment, she was professor of international law and director of the doctoral program in international human rights law at the University of Notre Dame Law School from 1996-2004. She previously taught at Santa Clara University and was a visiting lecturer at the University of San Diego School of Law, the University of California, Davis, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, the University of Paris, and the University of Strasbourg, France. Professor Shelton is the author or editor of three prize-winning books: Protecting Human Rights in the Americas (winner of the 1982 Inter-American Bar Association Book Prize and co-authored with Thomas Buergenthal); Remedies in International Human Rights Law (awarded the 2000 Certificate of Merit, American Society of International Law); and the three volume Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity (awarded a “Best Research” book award by the New York Public Library). She also has authored many articles and books on international law, human rights law, and international environmental law and is a member of the board of editors of the American Journal of International Law. This year, Professor Shelton was nominated to be a vice president of the American Society of International Law.

Professor Shelton serves on the boards of many human rights and environmental organizations. In 2006, she was awarded the prestigious Elizabeth Haub Prize in Environmental Law. From 1987 to 1989, she was the director of the Office of Staff Attorneys at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She has served as a legal consultant to the United Nations Environment Programme, UNITAR, World Health Organization, European Union, Council of Europe, and Organization of American States.