REPORT No. 154/10 PETITION 1462-07 ADMISSIBILITY LINDA LOAIZA LÓPEZ SOTO and NEXT OF KIN VENEZUELA* November 1, 2010 I. SUMMARY 1. On November 12, 2007, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter referred as the “Inter-American Commission” or the “IACHR”) received a complaint filed by Linda Loaiza López Soto and Mr. Juan Bernardo Delgado, as representative of the victims (hereinafter referred to as “the petitioners”), alleging that the State of Venezuela had incurred international responsibility for the failure to act with due diligence to sanction crimes of rape committed by a private actor to the detriment of Ms. Linda Loaiza López Soto. 2. The petitioners contend that the facts constitute a violation of the following rights guaranteed by the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the “American 1 2 Convention”) to the detriment of Ms. Linda Loaiza López Soto and her next of kin; the obligation to adopt measures of domestic legal effect (Article 2); the right to life (Article 4.1); the right to humane treatment (Articles 5.1 and 5.2); the right to a fair trial (Article 8.1); the right to respect for honor and dignity (Article 11); the right to equal protection of the law (Article 24); and the right to judicial protection (Article 25), with respect to the obligations set forth in Article 1(1) of this instrument; and Article 7 of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (hereinafter referred to as the “Belém do Pará Convention”). 3. The State, for its part, considers that the petition is inadmissible because “the violations of the fundamental guarantees and rights of any person, perpetrated by another individual without the 3 State’s approval, do not in any way constitute a responsibility for the State.” It contends that the competent courts acted in the present case with the proper constraints imposed upon them by the law, having as a result the sanction of Luis Carrera Almoina, and that the petitioners did not exhaust the suitable domestic remedies provided for by the legal system. 4. After reviewing the positions of the parties and in compliance with the requirements set forth in Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention, the Commission decided to declare this petition admissible for the purpose of examining the alleged violation of Articles 2, 5.1, 5.2, 8.1, 11.1, 24 and 25 of the American Convention, all in conjunction with the general obligation to respect and guarantee established in Article 1.1 of said international instrument, and Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará to the detriment of Ms. Linda Loaiza López Soto. The Commission also rules that the present petition is admissible with respect to the alleged violations of rights enshrined in Articles 5.1, 8.1 and 25 of the American Convention, in connection with Article 1.1 of this instrument, to the detriment of the next of kin of Linda Loaiza López Soto identified in paragraph two, note two, of the present report. As for the alleged violation of Article 4.1 of the American Convention, the Commission finds the petition inadmissible. * Pursuant to the provisions of Article 17(2)(a) of the IACHR Rules of Procedure, Commissioner Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero, a Venezuelan national, did not participate in the discussion on this petition. 1 The IACHR includes the complete name of Linda Loaiza López Soto at the express request of the victim made on August 10, 2010. 2 The petition identifies the following next of kin of Ms. Linda Loaiza López Soto as the alleged victims: her father Nelson López Meza; her mother Luz Paulina Soto de López; her brothers and sisters Ana Cecilia, Diana Carolina, Anyi Karina, Nelson Enrique, Elith Johana, Gerson José, Yusmely del Valle, Luz Paulina, José Isidro and Emmanuel Adrián López Soto; Juan Bernardo Delgado Linares; and her son Juan Moisés Delgado García. 3 Observations by the State submitted on January 15, 2009, page 1.