REPORT No. 110/10
PETITION 1560-07
ADMISSIBILITY
Claudina Isabel Velasquez Paiz Et Al
GUATEMALA
October 4, 2010
I.
SUMMARY
1.
On December 10, 2007, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(hereinafter “Commission,” “Inter-American Commission,” or “IACHR”) received a petition lodged by
the Guatemalan Institute of Comparative Studies in Criminal Sciences [Instituto de Estudios
Comparados en Ciencias Penales] and Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán (hereinafter “the
petitioners”), on behalf of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz, Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán, Elsa
Claudina Paiz Vidal de Velásquez, and Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz (hereinafter the “alleged
victims”). The petition was lodged against the State of Guatemala (hereinafter the “State,”
“Guatemalan State,” or “Guatemala”), for failure to investigate the murder of Claudina Isabel
Velásquez in August 2005 in Guatemala City, allegedly committed during a time of systematic
violence against women.
2.
The petitioners allege that the Guatemalan State is responsible for violation of the
rights established in Articles 4 (right to life), 5 (right to humane treatment), 8 (right to a fair trial),
11 (right to privacy), 24 (right to equal protection), and 25 (right to judicial protection) of the
American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the “Convention” or “American Convention”),
considered in accordance with the general obligation set forth in Article 1.1 of that international
instrument, and the violation of Articles 1, 3, and 7 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent,
Punish, and Eradicate Violence against Women (hereinafter the “Convention of Belém do Pará), to
the detriment of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz. They further allege the violation of the rights
enshrined in Articles 5 (humane treatment), 8 (fair trial), 11 (privacy) 24 (equal protection), and 25
(judicial protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the “Convention” or
“American Convention”), considered in accordance with the general obligation set forth in Article
1.1 of said international instrument, to the detriment of the next of kin of Claudina Isabel Velásquez:
Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán, Elsa Claudina Paiz Vidal de Velásquez, and Pablo Andrés Velásquez
Paiz.
3.
The State for its part maintains that appropriate domestic remedies have not been
pursued and exhausted, and that consequently the petition should be declared inadmissible. It
further contends that the investigation has not been concluded, that the Public Ministry is still
pursuing the investigation, and that it has information on alleged suspects against whom charges
may be filed.
4.
Without prejudice to the merits of the case, after examining the positions of the
parties, and in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Articles 46 and 47 of the American
Convention, the Commission has decided to declare the case admissible for the purpose of
examining the possible violation of the rights established in Articles 4, 5, 11, and 24, in accordance
with Article 1.1, of said instrument, and Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará, to the
detriment of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz. In addition, it has decided to declare the case
admissible with regard to the alleged violation of the rights enshrined in Articles 5.1, 8.1, and 25, in
accordance with Article 1.1, of that instrument with respect to Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán,
Elsa Claudina Paiz Vidal de Velásquez, and Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz. The IACHR decided to
declare the petition inadmissible regarding alleged violations of the rights provided in Articles 11 and
24 of the American Convention with respect to Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán, Elsa Claudina Paiz