-63obligation to conduct the said proceedings diligently. 106. Based on the foregoing, the Court considers that the habeas corpus procedure and the criminal proceedings have not complied with the standards of access to justice and due process enshrined in the American Convention. The State did not respect the principle of reasonable time in the criminal proceedings processed before the Chalatenango Trial Court and neither of the two proceedings has been processed diligently in a manner that would ensure their effectiveness in determining what happened to Ernestina and Erlinda Serrano Cruz, discovering their whereabouts, and investigating and punishing those responsible. 107. In view of the foregoing, the Court declares that the State has violated Articles 8(1) and 25 of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of Ernestina and Erlinda Serrano Cruz and their next of kin. VIII VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 (RIGHT TO HUMANE TREATMENT) OF THE CONVENTION IN RELATION TO ARTICLE 1(1) THEREOF Arguments of the Commission 108. With regard to Article 5, the Commission indicated that: a) The Serrano Cruz girls were permanently isolated from their family and community environment against their will and that of their parents. This “forced isolation” constitutes a violation of the physical and mental integrity of the sisters, which continues to this day, to the extent that they continue to be deprived of their identity and from contact with their biological family owing to the failure to comply with the obligation to investigate what occurred; and b) The mother and sister of Erlinda and Ernestina Serrano Cruz have suffered from the moment that the forced disappearance occurred. Not knowing the whereabouts of the alleged victims causes profound anguish to their next of kin who do not know where they are and whether they are well, “a matter regarding which no authority has provided them with information.” Arguments of the representatives of the alleged victims and their next of kin 109. With regard to Article 5 the representatives stated that: a) The next of kin of Erlinda and Ernestina Serrano Cruz have endured frustration and impotence owing to the failure of the public authorities to investigate the facts; and b) “If it is traumatic for an adult to flee his home to save his life, seeking refuge desperately in a safe place and becoming separated from his family, for these children it must have been an extremely harrowing experience, which continued over time, because they were never reunited with their family and, what is worse, their whereabouts are unknown.”