Margarette May Macaulay (born 20th century) is the

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n Commissioner and some time President of the

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese language, Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des ...

(OAS).

Life

Macaulay was born in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and is of Czech-German, Dominican-French-Creole, and Sierra Leone heritage. She passed her law degree at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, Holborn College. She then moved with her husband and young daughter, Berette, from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

to Jamaica. Macaulay has worked as a professional and academic in the area of human rights, particularly in the field of the rights of children and women. She is a recognized expert in the fight against gender violence. She has also worked for the abolition of the death penalty in the Caribbean region, environmental rights and for the land rights of indigenous peoples. She was judge of the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

between 2007 and 2012 where she contributed to the formulation of the Rules of Procedure of the Court. 5 leaders on human-rights. L to R: Julissa Mantilla Falcón, Antonia Urrejola Noguera, Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington DC in 2021 Macauley was elected as a member of the IACHR by the OAS General Assembly in 2015 to replace Francisco Eguiguren of Peru. She was the Rapporteur for

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

, Bahamas, Dominica, the United States, El Salvador and

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

. She was the Rapporteur on Rights of Women and Rapporteur on the Rights of People of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination through 2023 when she was succeeded by Gloria Monique de Mees. Macaulay was elected commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) by the OAS General Assembly for a period of four years, from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2019. She was the President of the IACHR in 2018. In 2023 she was again elected President with Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño as first vice president and Roberta Clarke of Barbados as the second.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macaulay, Margarette May 20th-century births Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Sierra Leonean emigrants Sierra Leone Creole people 21st-century Jamaican judges Organization of American States people Inter-American Commission on Human Rights commissioners