evolutive interpretation of Article 22(1) of the Convention, taking into account the applicable
norms of interpretation indicated in Article 29(b) of the Convention, this Court has considered
that the said article protects the right not to be forcibly displaced within a State Party. 421
220. Furthermore, the Court recalls that the obligation to ensure freedom of movement and
residence must also take into consideration the actions undertaken by the State to ensure that
the displaced populations are able to return to their places of origin without running the risk of
having their rights violated. In this regard, the Court reaffirms that the State’s obligation to
protect the rights of displaced persons involves not only the duty to adopt measures of
prevention, but also to provide the conditions required for a decorous and safe return to their
usual place of residence or their voluntary resettlement in another part of the country. 422 To this
end, their full participation in the planning and management of their return or reinsertion must
be guaranteed.423
221. Similarly, since the events of this case took place in the context of a non-international
armed conflict, the Court finds it useful and appropriate, as it has on other occasions, 424 to
interpret the scope of the treaty-based obligations in a way that is complementary with the
provisions of international humanitarian law, bearing in mind the latter’s specificity in this
area,425 especially the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949;426 Article 3 common to the four
Conventions; Protocol II additional to the Conventions (hereinafter also “Additional Protocol II”)
to which the State is a party,427 and customary international humanitarian law.428
222. It should be recalled that, in other cases, the Court has had the opportunity to analyze
the State’s responsibility taking into considerations some relevant principles of international
humanitarian law, namely the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in the use
of force in the context of non-international armed conflicts.429 In addition, when situations of
displacement occur in this type of conflicts, the regulations on displacement contained in
Additional Protocol II are also particularly useful for the application of the American Convention.
In this regard, Article 17 of this Protocol prohibits the displacement of the civilian population for
reasons related to the conflict unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military
reasons so demand. Should such displacements have to be carried out, “all possible measures
El Salvador. Merits, reparations and costs, para. 186.
421
Cf. Case of the Mapiripán Massacre v. Colombia, para. 188, and Case of the Massacres of El Mozote and nearby
places v. El Salvador. Merits, reparations and costs, para. 186.
422
Cf. Case of Chitay Nech et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of
May 25, 2010. Series C No. 212, para. 149, and Case of the Massacres of El Mozote and nearby places v. El Salvador.
Merits, reparations and costs, para. 188.
423
Cf. Case of Chitay Nech et al. v. Guatemala, para. 149, and Case of the Massacres of El Mozote and nearby
places v. El Salvador. Merits, reparations and costs, para. 188.
424
Cf. Case of the Ituango Massacres v. Colombia. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs, para. 179,
and Case of the Santo Domingo Massacre v. Colombia. Preliminary objections, merits and reparations, para. 187.
425
It should be recalled that international humanitarian law must be applied by the parties in the context of noninternational armed conflicts, provided that the events correspond to situations that occur because of and during an
armed conflict. In this case, there is no dispute about the fact that the situation must be analyzed by the Court
interpreting the American Convention in light of the pertinent provisions of international humanitarian law. Cf. Case of
the Santo Domingo Massacre v. Colombia. Preliminary objections, merits and reparations, footnote 254.
426
See, in particular, Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, adopted on
August 12, 1949, at Geneva. Entry into force: October 21, 1950, and ratified by Colombia on November 8, 1961.
427
Colombia has been a party to Additional Protocol II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and relating to the
Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts since August 14, 1995.
428
187.
Cf. Case of the Santo Domingo Massacre v. Colombia. Preliminary objections, merits and reparations, para.
429
Cf. Case of the Santo Domingo Massacre v. Colombia. Preliminary objections, merits and reparations, paras.
212, 214 and 216.
77
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