EXCERPTS FROM THE DECISION OF
THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN
STATEHOOD SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

…“ In entering into this stage of its analysis, the Commission acknowledges the degree of deference that must properly be afforded to states in organizing their political institutions so as to give effect to the right to vote and to participate in government. The Commission should only interfere in cases where the State has curtailed the very essence and effectiveness of an individual’s right to participate in his or her government. After considering the information on the record, however, the Commission finds that the restrictions on the Petitioners’ rights under Article XX to participate in their national legislature have been curtailed in such a manner as to deprive the Petitioners of the very essence and effectiveness of that right, without adequate justification being shown by the State for this curtailment.
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[T]he Commission must interpret and apply Articles II and XX in the context of current circumstances and standards
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Significantly, the State’s judicial branch has specifically concluded that the historical rationale for the District Clause in the U.S. Constitution would not today require the exclusion of District residents from the Congressional franchise and has accepted that denial of the franchise is not necessary for the effective functioning of the seat of government.
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The Commission also considers it significant that according to the information available, no other federal state in the Western Hemisphere denies the residents of its federal capital the right to vote for representatives in their national legislature.
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Based upon the response of the United States, the Commission finds that the State has failed to take measures to comply fully with the Commission’s recommendations. On this basis, and having considered the State's observations, the Commission has decided to ratify its conclusions and reiterate its recommendations, as set forth below.
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The Commission hereby concludes that the State is responsible for violations of the Petitioners’ rights under Articles II and XX of the American Declaration by denying them an effective opportunity to participate in their federal legislature.
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Provide the Petitioners with an effective remedy, which includes adopting the legislative or other measures necessary to guarantee to the Petitioners the effective right to participate, directly or through freely chosen representatives and in general conditions of equality, in their national legislature.”