B.2. Determination of the whereabouts and, where appropriate, search for
the remains of Victoria Lucía Grisonas Andrijauskaite and Mario Roger Julien
Cáceres
266. Regarding the whereabouts of Ms. Grisonas Andrijauskaite, the State must carry out, as
soon as possible, a search that is serious, systematic, and rigorous, with due diligence and making
all possible efforts, using trained personnel and deploying all necessary, appropriate, and suitable
technical and scientific resources.288 For this purpose, it must prepare a work schedule and design
the methodology of all the steps necessary to comply with this order, addressing the difficulties
that may arise and proposing a plan to overcome them.289 The methodology must be subject to
periodic review, if necessary, in order to verify its effectiveness and determine possible corrective
actions.
267. Regarding the search for the remains of Julien Cáceres, the Court orders that, in accordance
with the applicable procedural regulations, the judge in case 2637/04 take charge of examining
and assessing the information, evidence, and the other relevant elements to provide a welljustified response—within a reasonable time—to the requests submitted by the complainant. If
search efforts are suspended, the decision must be made transparently and with the prior and
informed consent of the family members.290 Should the judge decide to continue the search, the
competent authorities must continue, with due diligence, their work of investigating the
whereabouts of the victim and, if possible, recover and identify his remains and deliver them to
his next of kin. Either way, the judicial authority must guarantee the victims receive proper,
timely, and adequate communication and information, as they have the right to participate, as
appropriate, in the proceedings ordered.
268. The Court reiterates that the duty to investigate remains so long as there is uncertainty
about the ultimate fate of the disappeared persons,291 since, although it is an obligation of means
and not of results, the State does have an absolute obligation to deploy all measures necessary
to find the person. 292 In this regard, it is essential for the authorities to establish an effective
strategy for communicating with the relatives in order to agree on a framework of coordinated
action and to ensure their participation in, awareness of, and presence during the procedures
ordered, in accordance with the guidelines and protocols on the matter.293 In addition, should the
victims’ remains be located and identified, the State must cover the funeral expenses, in
agreement with the next of kin and in accordance with their beliefs. 294
C. Measures of rehabilitation
Cf. Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, supra, par. 191; Case of Terrones Silva et al. v. Peru, supra, par.
203, and Case of Garzón Guzmán et al. v. Ecuador, supra, par. 90.
289
Cf. Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment. Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights of February 16, 2021, Considering 24.
290
Cf. Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Guiding principles for the search for disappeared persons, UN
Doc. CED/C/7, May 8, 2019, Principle 7(4).
291
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits, supra, par. 181; Case of Goiburú et al. v. Paraguay,
supra par. 89, and Case of Terrones Silva et al. v. Peru, supra, par. 195. Also see, Human Rights Council, Report of
the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on standards and public policies for an effective
investigation of enforced disappearances, UN Doc. A/HRC/45/13Add.3, August 7, 2020, par. 33, and Committee on
Enforced Disappearances, Guiding principles for the search for disappeared persons, UN Doc. CED/C/7, May 8, 2019,
Principles 7(1) and 13(4).
292
Cf. Human Rights Council, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, General comment on
the right to the truth in relation to enforced disappearance, January 26, 2011, UN Doc. A/HRC/16/48, par. 5.
293
Cf. Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, supra, par. 191, and Case of Garzón Guzmán et al. v. Ecuador,
supra, par. 110.
294
Cf. Case of Anzulado Castro v. Peru, supra, par. 185, and Case of Garzón Guzmán et al. v. Ecuador, supra,
par. 110.
288
68