Commission’s report issued according to Article 50 of the Convention, as well
as in the application before this Court. In addition, in keeping with Article 35
of the Rules of Procedure, it is the responsibility of the Commission, and not
this Tribunal, to identify with precision and at the proper procedural moment
the alleged victims in a case before the Court.17 Likewise, the Tribunal finds
that the admissibility and merits report indicated by the Commission dates to
2009, that is, subsequent to the adoption of the standard mentioned
regarding the identification of the victims. On the other hand, that presented
additionally by the Inter-American Commission in its final written arguments
in regard to the determination of the alleged victims is time-barred..
29.
Consequently, the Tribunal specifies that the individuals that will be
considered as alleged victims in this case are Pedro Miguel Vera Vera and
Francisca Mercedes Vera, who were indicated as such by the Inter-American
Commission in the report to which Article 50 of the American Convention
refers, as well as in the application.18 However, this does not prevent the
Court from taking into consideration the testimonies of Agustín Abraham Vera
Vera and Francisco Rubén Vargas Balcázar (supra para. 20) as evidence of
the facts alleged in this case.
B.
Factual Basis of the application
30.
In its application, the Commission referred to an alleged situation that
is generalized in Ecuador regarding “the overpopulation of prisoners in
establishments of the penitentiary system[,] poor provision of equipment and
medicine in health clinics of the penitentiary system, as well [as a] lack of
minimum requirements such [as] access to medical care,” among other
things, when alleging the human rights violations suffered by Mr. Pedro
Miguel Vera Vera in 1993. In the public hearing (supra para. 8), the
Commission noted that the case of Pedro Miguel Vera Vera “demonstrates […]
that the detention system does not have the resources, mechanisms, and
procedures necessary in order to ensure that persons who require urgent
medical attention receive[d] treatment in a timely manner[.]” Nevertheless,
in its final written arguments, the Commission noted that “[t]he information
available indicates [that], to date, this situation entailing the lack of an
institutional response that would allow for the provision of medical treatment
to those deprived of liberty persists, and thus it is indispensable that
measures of non-repetition be issued in order to resolve this problem in a
general manner in Ecuador.” For their part, during the hearing, the
representatives argued that there is currently a pattern “of indolence on
behalf of [State] authorities regarding the health of persons deprived of
Gelman V. Uruguay, supra note 12, para. 32, and Case of Gomes Lund et al. (Guerrilha do
Araguaia) V. Brazil, supra note 4, paras. 79 to 80
17
Cf. Case of Masacres de Ituango V. Colombia. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations
and Costs. Judgment of July 1, 2006. Series C. No. 148, para. 98; Case of Rosendo Cantú and
otra V. México. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 31,
2010 Series C No. 216, para. 140, and Case of Gomes Lund et al. (Guerrilha do Araguaia) V.
Brazil, supra note 4, para. 78.
18
Cf. Admissibility and Merits Report No. 82/09, Case of 11.535. Milton Zambrano Vera V.
Ecuador (case file of annexes to the application, appendix I, folios 96 to 122). Application of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (case file of Merits, tomo I, folios 4 a 26).
13