Ratifications
As of 2010, 24 of the 35 OAS's member states have ratified the Convention:
| Country | Ratification date | 1st additional protocol | 2nd additional procotol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 14 August 1984 | 30 June 2003 | 18 June 2008 |
| Barbados | 5 December 1981 | ||
| Bolivia | 20 June 1979 | 12 July 2006 | |
| Brazil | 9 July 1992 | 8 August 1996 | 31 July 1996 |
| Chile | 8 August 1990 | 4 August 2008 | |
| Colombia | 28 May 1973 | 10 October 1997 | |
| Costa Rica | 2 March 1970 | 9 September 1999 | 30 March 1998 |
| Dominica | 3 June 1993 | ||
| Dominican Republic | 21 January 1978 | ||
| Ecuador | 8 December 1997 | 2 February 1993 | 5 February 1998 |
| El Salvador | 20 June 1978 | 4 May 1995 | |
| Grenada | 14 July 1978 | ||
| Guatemala | 27 April 1978 | 30 May 2000 | |
| Haiti | 14 September 1977 | ||
| Honduras | 5 September 1977 | ||
| Jamaica | 19 July 1978 | ||
| Mexico | 2 March 1981 | 8 March 1996 | 28 June 2007 |
| Nicaragua | 25 September 1979 | 24 March 1999 | |
| Panama | 8 May 1978 | 28 October 1992 | 27 June 1991 |
| Paraguay | 18 August 1989 | 28 May 1997 | 31 October 2000 |
| Peru | 12 July 1978 | 17 May 1995 | |
| Suriname | 12 December 1987 | 28 February 1990 | |
| Uruguay | 26 March 1985 | 21 December 1995 | 8 February 1994 |
| Venezuela | 23 June 1977 | 24 August 1992 |
Trinidad and Tobago suspended its ratification on 26 May 1998 (effective 26 May 1999) over the death penalty issue.
The treaty is open to all OAS member states, although to date it has not been ratified by Canada or several of the English-speaking Caribbean nations; the United States signed it in 1977 but has not proceeded with ratification.
Canada did at one point seriously consider ratification, but has decided against it, despite being in principle in favour of such a treaty. The ACHR, having been largely drafted by the predominantly Roman Catholic nations of Latin America, contains pro-life provisions, specifically, Article 4.1:
| “ | Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. | ” |
This conflicts with the current legality of abortions in Canada. Although Canada could ratify the convention with a reservation with respect to abortion (as did Mexico), that would contradict Canada's stated opposition to the making of reservations to human rights treaties. Another solution would be for the other states to remove the anti-abortion provisions, but that is unlikely to occur due to strong opposition to abortion in those countries.
Read more about this topic: American Convention On Human Rights