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IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Takes Cases Involving Guatemala and Venezuela to the Inter-American Court
March 22, 2011
Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed applications with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 12.590, Gudiel Álvarez et al. (Diario Militar), with respect to Guatemala, and Case 12.605, Joe Luís Castillo González et al., with respect to Venezuela.
Case 12.590, Gudiel Álvarez et al. (Diario Militar), Guatemala, has to do with the forced disappearance of 26 victims; the forced disappearance and extrajudicial execution of Rudy Gustavo Figueroa Muñoz; and the detention and torture of the child Wendy Santizo Méndez. These events remain in impunity, as the State of Guatemala has failed to conduct a serious, effective investigation or to identify or punish the perpetrators or masterminds of the crimes. This case is illustrative of the context of a counterinsurgency policy characterized by terror and systematic human rights violations during the armed conflict in Guatemala, as well as the situation of impunity that usually accompanies such violations in that country. Another element is the concealment, for many years, of information related to the use of military intelligence as a form of counterinsurgency. The document known as the Diario Militar (Military Diary), which was made public in 1999 by the nongovernmental organization National Security Archive, contains a log of operations—such as abductions, secret detentions, and in many cases, murders—along with information about the victims of such operations. This document was prepared between August 1983 and March 1985 by the Guatemalan presidential intelligence unit known as El Archivo. Included in its record of actions perpetrated against 183 individuals are the victims in Case 12.590. The case was sent to the Inter-American Court on February 18, 2011, because the Commission considered that the State had not complied with the recommendations contained in the report on the merits.
Case 12.605, Joe Luís Castillo González et al., Venezuela, has to do with the August 27, 2003, murder of the human rights defender Joe Luís Castillo González, in an attack that also seriously wounded his wife, Yelizte Moreno de Castillo, and their 1½-year-old son, Luís César Castillo Moreno. The attack on Joe Luís Castillo González remains in impunity, as the State did not carry out serious, effective investigations to identify those responsible and, where appropriate, impose the applicable punishment. The investigation that was undertaken had serious irregularities and was discontinued by the Office of the Public Prosecutor without steps having been taken to clarify the events by pursuing logical avenues of investigation. The Commission took it as established fact that the investigation turned up indications of alleged collusion and/or participation by agents of the State in the attack on Joe Luís Castillo González, indications that were cast aside without the pertinent investigations having been exhausted. This lack of a serious, effective investigation not only constituted a violation of the the rights to life and physical integrity, and denial of justice with respect to the family members of Joe Luís Castillo González; it also had an intimidating effect on human rights defenders in the area of Machiques, in the state of Zulia, and particularly in the Apostolic Vicariat. In taking the case to the Court, the IACHR indicated the context of violence and harassment faced by human rights defenders in Venezuela and the intimidating effect this murder can engender in the community of human rights defenders, an effect that is increased with the impunity surrounding these events. The case was sent to the Inter-American Court on February 22, 2011, because the Commission considered that the State had not complied with the recommendations contained in the report on the merits.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 24/11