definitely necessary to understand, as stated by the Commission, that said right to
know the truth, as part of the acknowledgment of the Right to a Fair Trial (Article
8) and Judicial Protection (Article 25) acknowledged by the American Convention on
Human Rights, corresponds individually to each victim, but also to the Guatemalan
society in general. I consider there are enough precedents of this Court to
substantiate said criterion 5 and therefore, I found it necessary to clarify why,
despite the acknowledgment of responsibility by the State of Guatemala and its
acquiescence during the processing of the case sub judice, it was, in my opinion,
necessary to continue with the examination of the case, pursuant with the
aforementioned Article 55 of the Rules of Procedure and issue the judgment with
which I fully concurred.
B.- Evidentiary value of the reports of the CEH and the REMHI. More than
once the evidentiary value or appropriateness of the documents and reports of the
Historic Explanation Commission –CEH- (Guatemala, Memories of Silence), as well
as of the Report of the Inter-Diocese Project “Recovery of Historic Memory” –
REMHI- of the Human Rights Office of the Archbishopric of Guatemala (“Guatemala,
Nunca Más”) have been questioned both internally within Guatemala and before
6
international instances. However, both competent national courts in Guatemala
and this Court 7 have received, assessed, and taken into account as evidence, the
reports of the CEH as well as the REMHI. The present judgment reiterates the
evidentiary value of these documents (paragraph 38 and footnotes number 34; 37;
38; 62; and 63). There must be no doubt regarding the pertinent criterion of this
judgment stating that the reports and documents used for the preparation of the
same and presented by the CEH and the REMHI may have the value of
documentary evidence, direct or indirect, main or subsidiary, if they are relevant for
the specific case in question, either at a national or international level. The
Agreement on the Establishment of the Commission for the Historic Explanation of
the Violations to Human Rights and the Acts of Violence that have caused suffering
to the Guatemalan People” 8 (hereinafter the “Agreement on the Establishment of
the CEH”) states, as part of the purposes of said Commission (“CEH”), that one of
them is to “Explain with all objectivity, equity, and impartiality the violations of
human rights and the acts of violence that have caused suffering to Guatemalan
people, linked to the armed conflict” and as a consequence of it, “Prepare a report
that includes the results of the investigations carried out and that offers objective
elements of judgment regarding the events occurred during that period covering all
factors, internal and external.”
5
Case of Carpio Nicolle et al. v. Guatemala; Case of Montero Arangueren et al. (Detention Center
of Catia) v. Venezuela; Case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison v. Peru, are just some of these
precedents.
6
For example, see the separate and partially dissenting opinion of the Judge ad hoc Martínez
Gálvez in the case of Myrna Mack Chang v. Guatemala, as well as section VI of the Judgment issued by
the Constitutionality Court of Guatemala in case file No. 3380-2007.
7
Case of the Plan de Sánchez Massacre v. Guatemala and Case of Myrna Mack Chang v.
Guatemala.
8
“Agreement on the establishment of the Commission for the Historic Explanation of the
violations to human rights and the facts of violence that have caused suffering to the Guatemalan
people,” signed in Oslo, Norway, June 23, 1994. Within its initial Considerations, there are the following:
“Considering that the contemporary history of our country registers grave facts of violence, of
disrespect to people’s fundamental rights and suffering of the population linked to the armed conflict;”
“Considering the right of the people of Guatemala to fully know the truth about these events whose
explanation will contribute to avoid the repetition of these sad and painful pages and to strengthen the
country’s democratization process.”