of the State’s evidence was extemporaneous. For its part, the Commission pointed out that the State’s report corroborated the allegation of the lack of impetus in the investigation into the death of Oscar Aurelio Rodríguez. In view of the foregoing, only those documents and allegations submitted in response to the Court’s questions will be admitted.23 16. Finally, according to the Court’s case law, the statements of the presumed victims rendered by affidavit and at the public hearing (supra para. 11) cannot be assessed in isolation, but rather within the body of the evidence in the case, given that they are useful only insofar as they provide additional information on the alleged violations and their consequences.24 V PROVEN FACTS A. Situation of environmentalists in Honduras 17. First of all, the Court takes note of the report submitted by the State to the United Nations Committee on Human Rights on February 21, 2005, according to which:25 “in some cases the villagers that defend natural resources and the environment lose their lives (such as Janeth Kawas) when opposing the destruction or misappropriation of sites considered as the patrimony of all inhabitants for their scenic beauty and as their source of employment (such as Bahía de Tela), which offer relief to families through the provision of income and food. Carlos Luna is another martyr who lost his life while defending the forest resources of Olancho. Other local people who have attempted to exercise their right to freely use the country's natural wealth and resources (such as estuaries, natural lagoons or mangroves) have met a similar fate, when they got in the way of powerful economic interests (such as the 12 fishermen in the southern region of Honduras who were murdered between 1990 and 2001) and whose deaths remain unpunished.” 18. Similarly, in the case of Kawas Fernández v. Honduras, the Court established that, “during the decade following the death of Blanca Jeannette Kawas Fernández, acts of aggression, threats and the executions of several people dedicated to the defense of the environment in Honduras26 have been reported. In 1996, Carlos Escaleras, a community leader in the Valley of Aguán, was executed; in 1998 the environmental activist, Carlos Luna; in 2001, Carlos Flores, a community leader and environmentalist from Olancho, and 23 Cf. Case of Nadege Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of October 24, 2012. Series C No. 251, para. 23. 24 Cf. Case of Loayza Tamayo v. Peru. Merits. Judgment of September 17, 1997. Series C No. 33, para. 43, and Case of Suárez Peralta, supra, para. 37. 25 United Nations Organization, Committee on Human Rights. Report submitted by the State of Honduras under Article 40 of the Pact of February 21, 2005, CCPR/C/HND/2005/1, document with the end date of April 26, 2005, para. 15 (file of attachments to the Report on Merits, page 224). 26 Case of Kawas Fernández v. Honduras. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 3, 2009. Series C No. 196, para. 69, footnote 78, which cites the documentation presented during the prosecution of that case, specifically: “the assessment rendered by Clarisa Vega Molina before the Inter-American Court […]; Center for Human Rights and the Environment (CEDHA for its Spanish acronym), The Human Cost of Defending the Planet. Violations of the Human Rights of Environmentalists in the Americas, Report 2002-2003 […]; Amnesty International, Honduras: Murders of Environmental Activists in the Olancho Province. February 2007, contents: AI 37/001/2007 […]; Amnesty International. Persecution and resistance. The experience of human rights defenders in Guatemala and Honduras. August 2007, contents: AI AMR 02/001/2007 […]; memorandum of May 22, 2008, signed by the Coordinator of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Juticalpa, Olancho […]; copy of letter No. FEDH-5752009 of July 2, 2008, signed by Coordinating Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Human Rights […]”. 10