3 13. As regards the impact on TGGL´s life, they emphasized that social rejection and discrimination have lead to isolation and caused her to suffer from a psychological disorder. They added that she has been prevented from attending primary school due to her illness and that the family have limited financial resources and lack the necessary means to obtain anti-retroviral medicines which they describe as scarce in the country and expensive on the market. They stated that the girl and her mother are surviving on the “charity of the kind people of Cuenca”, occasionally organizing raffles and lotteries to obtain some benefits. 14. They stated that a number of State authorities such as the Governor of Azuay and officials from the Ministry of Justice have been made aware of the situation, but no measures have been adopted to address it. They added that this latter authority pointed out that since there was a petition pending before the IACHR, they had to await a definitive decision before providing aid. B. The State 15. The State of Ecuador did not present observations at the merits stage. Bearing in mind that questions of competence and admissibility have already been decided in the admissibility report, the Commission will only restate those arguments presented by the State at the admissibility stage which may be relevant to the decision on the merits of the case. 16. The State pointed out that in terms of international responsibility “(…) the crucial point is to find out whether a specific violation has taken place with the support or tolerance of the State or whether the latter has acted in a manner ensuring that the violation has taken place without any preventive action or with impunity (…).” In this regard, it pointed out that the infection of the girl TGGL with the HIV virus and the alleged humiliation and social discrimination suffered by her are not attributable to state agents. 17. According to the State, the International Committee of the Red Cross is an association created pursuant to the Swiss Civil Code, according to the functions established in the Geneva Conventions. It added that both the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Cross of Ecuador have “international legal personality” or a “separate status”. From the above, the State concluded that it is free from “any responsibility” relating to the facts of the present case. 18. As regards the domestic proceedings, it alleged that it was the family of TGGL that allowed the criminal trial to expire and that they delayed the continuance or the examination of the case. According to the State, the family showed “negligence and little interest in pursuing the case and in obtaining the conviction of the alleged perpetrators.” It pointed out that TGGL’s mother lacked competent legal counsel in her claim before the First Special Chamber of Civil, Commercial, Leasehold, and Residual Matters of the Superior Court of Justice of Cuenca, which declared all proceedings null and void starting with the order allowing the civil suit to proceed. 19. Finally, the State alleged that faced with adverse judicial decisions, the petitioners are attempting to use the Commission as an instance to review the merits of lawfully concluded trials at the domestic level. IV. PROVEN FACTS 20. The Commission will set out the established facts, in the following order: i) facts relating to TGGL, her health condition and blood transfusion on June 22, 1998; ii) facts that followed the transfusion; iii) the experts’ conclusions with respect to the causes of the infection; iv) facts relating to the impact upon TGGL’s life; v) facts relating to the Red Cross of Ecuador, the Blood Bank and the applicable domestic legal framework; vi) facts relating to the criminal proceedings; and vii) facts relating to the civil suit. A. Facts relating to TGGL, her health condition and the June 22, 1998, blood transfusion