provided by affidavit and at the public hearing. To this end, the Court will abide by the
principles of sound judicial discretion, within the corresponding legal framework.9
1.
Testimony received
16.
Written testimony was received from the following witnesses, experts witnesses
and alleged victims:10
1) Clemente Dermontt, Community leader, alleged victim, offered by the
Commission. He testified, inter alia, on the “legal proceedings before the
domestic jurisdiction for the restitution to the Xákmok Kásek Community of
its land”;
2) Marceline López, Community leader, alleged victim, offered by the
representatives. She testified, inter alia, on: (i) “the legal proceedings
before the domestic jurisdiction for the restitution of their land,” and (ii)
“the migration and displacement of members of the Community”;
3) Gerardo Larrosa, member of the Community and health promoter, alleged
victim, offered by the representatives. He testified, inter alia, on “the past
and present health conditions of the Community”;
4) Tomas Dermott, member of the Community, alleged victim, offered by the
representatives. He testified, inter alia, on “the peoples of the ancestral
lands and the history of the dispossession of the lands of the Xákmok Kásek
Community”;
5) Roberto Carlos Eaton Kent, “owner of the Salazar Ranch,” witness proposed
by the State. He testified, inter alia, on “the factual and legal situation of the
land claimed by the Community”;
6) Rodolfo Stavenhagen, anthropologist and sociologist, former United Nations
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms of indigenous people, expert witness proposed by the Commission.
He testified, inter alia, on: (i) “the situation of the indigenous peoples of the
Paraguayan Chaco”; (ii) “the importance for indigenous peoples that their
ancestral lands and territories be recognized and protected,” and (iii) “the
consequences of the lack of State recognition”;
7) Antonio Spiridonoff Reyes, forestry engineer, expert witness proposed by
the representatives. He testified, inter alia, on: (i) “the assessment of the
area claimed by the Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community as appropriate
for human settlement and their demographic expansion,” and (ii) the “type
of economic activities possible on the land and throughout the traditional
territory,” and
8) Sergio Iván Braticevic, geographer, master’s degree in economic sociology
and a doctorate in philosophy and letters (anthropology section), expert
witness proposed by the State. He has written, inter alia, a report entitled
“Breve estudio territorial sobre la Comunidad Xákmok Kásek del Chaco
9
Cf. Case of the “White Van” (Paniagua Morales et al.) v. Guatemala. Reparations and costs.
Judgment of May 25, 2001. Series C No. 76, para. 76; Case of Chitay Nech et al. v. Guatemala, supra note
8, para. 47, and Case of Manuel Cepeda Vargas v. Colombia, supra note 8, para. 53.
10
On March 29, 2010, the Commission indicated that Juan Dermott was unable to give his testimony
because he was ill. Also, on March 30, 2010, the State desisted from presenting the testimony of Amancio
Ruiz Ramírez, Eduvigis Ruiz Dermott and Oscar Centurión (supra para. 6).
5