B.3.
Measures adopted by the State to revert the effects of the displacement
183. This Court has verified that the living conditions in Pacux have not allowed its
inhabitants to return to their traditional economic activities. Instead, they have had to
participate in economic activities that have not provided them with a stable income, and this
has also contributed to the disintegration of the social structure and the cultural and
spiritual life of the community. In addition, the facts of the case have proved that the
inhabitants of Pacux live in very precarious conditions, and that their basic needs in the
areas of health, education, electricity and water are not being fully met (supra paras. 85
and 86). Therefore, although Guatemala has made efforts to resettle the survivors of the
massacres of the Río Negro community, it has not created the conditions or provided the
means that are essential for repairing or mitigating the effects of its displacement, which
was caused by the State itself.
B.4.
Conclusion
184. Consequently, the Court finds that the State of Guatemala is responsible for the
violation of Article 22(1) of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, to
the detriment of the survivors of the Río Negro massacres who live in the Pacux settlement.
The names of these individuals are found in Annex VII of this Judgment.
XII
JUDICIAL GUARANTEES AND JUDICIAL PROTECTION UNDER THE AMERICAN
CONVENTION, IN RELATION TO ARTICLE 1(1) THEREOF AND TO ARTICLES I OF
THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON FORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF PERSONS, 1,
6 AND 8 OF THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION TO PREVENT AND PUNISH
TORTURE, AND 7(B) OF THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON THE
PREVENTION, PUNISHMENT AND ERADICATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
A.
Arguments of the parties and of the Inter-American Commission
185. The Commission and the representatives emphasized that impunity constituted one
of the main components of the system of extreme violence and persecution in the context of
which the grave human rights violations in this case were committed. In this regard, they
indicated that approximately 28 years after the facts took place, 16 years after having
initiated judicial proceedings regarding the Río Negro (Cerro Pacoxom) and Agua Fría
massacres, and eight years after having started the proceedings regarding the Xococ
massacre, only a few of the actual perpetrators have been prosecuted, while “the
mastermind continues collecting his pension as a retired soldier, despite the existence of a
warrant for his arrest […].” Furthermore, despite the existence of proceedings regarding the
Agua Fría massacre, they argued that no one had been convicted owing to the failure to
identify the remains exhumed, so that the facts remain in complete impunity. With regard
to the investigation into the facts of the Pacoxom and Agua Fría massacres, the Commission
argued that the defendants have made indiscriminate use of legal remedies in order to
delay the proceedings, and this has been tolerated by the authorities. Finally, the
Commission indicated that “the failure to comply with the increased obligation to investigate
and prosecute the acts of genocide and racism perpetrated against the Río Negro
community perpetuates the effects of racial discrimination to which the members of the
Maya Achí people were subjected.” In this regard, it argued that “a diligent investigation
and trial with regard to what happened are the only appropriate measures to end the racial
discrimination and its effects, by repairing the rights of the surviving victims.”
69
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