REPORT N° 67/05 PETITION 61/03 ADMISSIBILITY BLANCA JEANETTE KAWAS HONDURAS October 13, 2005 I. SUMMARY 1. On January 13, 2003, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission,” “the Inter-American Commission,” or “the IACHR”) received a petition lodged by the Center for Justice and International Law and the Reflection, Investigation, and Communication Team (hereinafter “the petitioners”). In that petition, it is alleged that the Republic of Honduras (hereinafter “Honduras” the “Honduran State” or “the State”) is responsible for violation of Articles 4, 5(1), 5(2), 8(1), and 25(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention” or “the Convention”), all considered in relation to Article 1(1) of that international instrument, to the detriment of Mrs. Blanca Jeannette Kawas (hereinafter the “alleged victim”). 2. The complaint alleges that the State is responsible for violating the right to life, the right to a fair trial, and the right to judicial protection of Blanca Jeannette Kawas Fernández, rights to be considered in conjunction with the obligations contained in Article 1(1) of the Convention. The petitioners contend that there is a pattern of extrajudicial executions of environmental defenders in Honduras, that the authorities have not conducted an effective investigation into the murder of the alleged victim which occurred on February 6, 1995, and that, in addition, domestic remedies pursued in this case have proven to be ineffective. With regard to the admissibility of the case, the State argues that the remedies provided under the domestic legal system have not been exhausted, and that the delay in the investigation was due to the complexity of the case. 3. After examining the positions of the parties, competence to decide on the petition lodged by admissible, in accordance with Articles 46 and Commission also resolves to publish this report in Assembly and to notify both parties. II. the Commission concludes that it has the petitioners, and that the case is 47 of the American Convention. The the Annual Report to the OAS General PROCEDURES OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION 4. The Commission received the petition on January 16, 2003, and assigned it number 061/03. On July 13, 2003, the petitioners sent additional information. On that same date, the information was transferred to the State, which requested an extension on September 10 2003, which was granted on October 14, 2003. The State submitted its observations on October 17, 2003, and they were forwarded to the petitioners. Petitioners responded on December 4, 2003 and that response was sent to the State on January 26, 2004. The State sent its observations on March 23, 2004, and the petitioners responded to them on April 30, 2004. That response was forwarded to the State on May 6, 2004. On June 4, 2004, the observations of the State were received. On July 8, 2004, additional information was sent by the petitioners, and on July 14, 2004, the petitioners’ response to the State’s observations was received and responded to by the State on August 31, 2004. This response was transmitted to the petitioners on September 13, 2004, and their response to it was received on September 28 of that year. Those observations were transmitted to the State on October 6, 2004, and it responded on October 4, 2004 [sic]. Both parties subsequently submitted additional information which was forwarded to the other parties. III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES A. The Petitioners 1