Thank you for the question.
Yes, these are very tough times for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and very tough times for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Last year, with very short notice, we reported on their financial crisis, especially because of the very dramatic fall in voluntary contributions by different countries in and out of the commission. That crisis made everybody aware of the importance of the system and aware that we needed to make it possible to receive more and better contributions for them.
The thing is, the system survived the crisis this year but there were no structural solutions for the future. Under these circumstances, we may face the same kinds of problems next year, so this year we need to work from the very beginning of the year, in order to obtain more contributions from the countries in order to sustain most of the growth.
The sessions have been maintained. This year, because Panama offered to host the sessions of the commission, next year it will be Uruguay hosting the sessions of the commission, so that part is resolved.
For the next general assembly, we need to find a structural solution, because the budget that it receives from the regular funding of the organization has been kept at the very same level, which is much more than anybody can ask for, because we have reduced by at least 12% to 15% the rest of the commissioners or secretaries of the organization. We kept it at the very same level.
We'll have to work very hard during the year in order to keep resources coming, and we expect that at the next general assembly in Mexico we will be able to find a solution.
There are some proposals that were not approved in the last general assembly budget. One of them was to direct late payments, for example, by Brazil, to the commission. I think we can do that, at least for a high percentage—at least 50%—of the late payments that we have received this year.
There was a proposal by Mexico to increase the contributions by the countries to the inter-American human rights system. If we expect to cover practically all of the projects, countries' total contributions to the OAS will have to be increased by something like 10% to 12%. That could be a structural solution and could give the organization and the inter-American human rights system the autonomy and independence from a financial point of view that they definitely need to have to do their work.