that is obligated by the Convention42 and, therefore, it not only has the international obligation to respect and ensure respect for the rights recognized therein,43 but also, frequently, it can only do so through its courts of justice. 25. This is why, as the Court has indicated: “The rule of the prior exhaustion of domestic remedies has been conceived in the interest of the State because it seeks to exempt it from responding before an international organ for acts attributed to it, before it has had the opportunity to rectify them using its own means.”44 26. Ultimately, this rule allows the State to comply with its human rights obligations without waiting for the inter-American system to order it to do so, following litigation. Hence, the said rule is intended to accord the State the possibility of ordering the effective respect for and exercise of the human rights that have been violated as soon as possible, which is the object and purpose of the Convention and, consequently, makes a subsequent intervention by the inter-American jurisdiction unnecessary. 27. The rule of the prior exhaustion of domestic remedies signifies that, in those situations in which it has been already been alleged in the relevant sphere of the domestic jurisdiction that the State has not complied with its commitment to respect and ensure the free and full exercise of human rights, it is possible to require the intervention of the international jurisdictional instance so that, if appropriate, the State is ordered to comply with the international obligations it has violated, provide a guarantee that it will not violate them again, and redress all the consequences of such violations.45 28. From this perspective, it can be argued that although the practical effect of the said rule is that the State re-establish respect for the human rights violated as soon as possible – the object and purpose of the Convention – it is also true that this rule has been established (and perhaps, above all) to benefit the alleged victim of the human rights violation. D. The holder of the obligation 29. It is also necessary to underline that the Convention conceives the said rule as an obligation that must be met prior to the “petition or communication lodged in accordance with Articles 4446 or 45”47 and this means that the responsibility for complying with this rule Art. 1(1) of the Convention: The States Parties to this Convention undertake to respect the rights and freedoms recognized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition. 42 Art. 33 of the Convention: “The following organs shall have competence with respect to matters relating to the fulfillment of the commitments made by the States Parties to this Convention: a) the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, referred to as "The Commission;" and b) the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, referred to as "The Court." 43 Supra, footnote 24. Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para. 61. 44 45 Supra, footnote 16. 46 Supra, footnote 13. “1. Any State Party may, when it deposits its instrument of ratification of or adherence to this Convention, or at any later time, declare that it recognizes the competence of the Commission to receive and examine communications in which a State Party alleges that another State Party has committed a violation of a human right set forth in this Convention. 2. Communications presented by virtue of this article may be admitted and examined only if they are presented by a State Party that has made a declaration recognizing the aforementioned competence of the Commission. The Commission shall not admit any communication against a State Party that has not made such a declaration. 3. A declaration concerning recognition of competence may be made to be valid for an indefinite time, for a specified period, or for a specific case. 4. 47 9