4 Mr. Joinet notes that the proposed principles do not constitute “an obstacle to national reconciliation”, but rather “guiding principles intended not to thwart reconciliation but to avoid distortions in certain reconciliation policies so that, once beyond the first stage, which is more concerned with ‘conciliation’ than reconciliation, the foundations of a ‘just and lasting reconciliation’ may be laid” (para. 49). 11. An important commentary on this subject that might be helpful to reflect upon here, appears in official communication 917-719, sent by then Chilean President Patricio Aylwin, to the President of the Supreme Court of Chile, on March 4, 1991, wherein he addresses the matter that concerns us here. Mr. Aylwin wrote the following: “I am convinced that for the national community it is important that justice be done in these cases (grave human rights violation), with each branch of government performing its own functions, which I am the first to respect. Accordingly, my conscience would not rest easy if I failed to convey to the Honorable Court my view that the amnesty now in effect, which the government respects, must not and cannot be an obstacle to judicial inquiry and to ascertaining where the responsibilities lie, especially in the case of the disappeared.” The letter goes on to add the following: “Under Article 5 of the Constitution (of Chile), it is the duty of the branches of government to respect and promote the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and by the international treaties that Chile has ratified and that are currently in effect. One of those rights is the right to justice.” 12. In summation, in my opinion the Court’s judgment in the instant case does not take issue with the efforts that sectors of the national community are making for domestic peace and reconciliation, although it does, of course, take into account the characteristics that international law and recent case law and doctrine consider essential if that goal is to be achieved in a manner compatible with respect for human rights, which is the common cause of the States Parties to the American Convention. Sergio García-Ramírez Judge Manuel E. Ventura-Robles Secretary