2 it is competent to hear the claim filed by the petitioners, for the alleged violation - to the detriment of the alleged victims - of Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11.1, 12, 13, 16, 17, 21, 22, 24 and 25 of the American Convention in conjunction with Article 1(1) of that Convention and Article I of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons. Furthermore, in application of the principle of iura novit curia, the Commission concludes that the petition is admissible for the alleged violation of Articles 3 and 23 of the Convention in conjunction with Article 1(1) of the same instrument. The Commission decided to declare the petition inadmissible in relation to the alleged violation of Article 15 of the American Convention and in relation to the provisions of the American Declaration and the Convention on Torture that have been invoked. Finally, the IACHR decides to notify the parties, publish this admissibility report and include it in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the OAS. II. PROCEDURES BEFORE THE COMMISSION 5. The petition was received on December 13, 2007 and registered as P-1579-07. On July 14, 2008 the State was notified, and was given two months to submit its observations. Guatemala’s response was received by the IACHR on September 10, 2008. 6. In addition, the Commission received information from the petitioners on the following 2 dates: December 29, 2008; January 29, July 16, September 15, November 5, and November 20 , 2009; and March 19, 2010. These communications were duly forwarded to the State. 7. Moreover, the IACHR received information from the State on March 23 and August 21, 2009; and January 11 and May 4, 2010. These communications were duly transmitted to the petitioners. 8. In addition, on May 6, 2010, the petitioners submitted the expert report “Informe sobre el daño a la salud mental (moral) de los habitantes de las comunidades indígenas maya achí de Chichupac, Xeabaj y otras comunidades circunvecinas a éstas del municipio de Rabinal, Departamento de Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, Centroamérica; derivado de la masacre de Chichupac ocurrido el 8 de enero de 1982 y otros hechos de violencia conexos con la masacre, ocurridos con anterioridad y posterioridad a la misma” (Report on the harm to the mental (moral) health of the inhabitants of the Maya Achí indigenous communities of Chichupac, Xeabaj, and other neighboring communities in the municipality of Rabinal, department of Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, Central America, arising from the Chichupac massacre of January 8, 1982 and other related acts of violence before and after it”). The document was forwarded to the State on June 10, 2010. III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES A. The petitioners 9. The petitioners argue that between 1981 and 1986, the Guatemalan State adopted a policy of persecution, torture and extermination against the Maya Achí population of Rabinal municipality, department of Baja Verapaz. They argue that the State’s policy of genocide was put into effect through several criminal acts: massacres, arbitrary executions, forced disappearances, tortures, rapes and destruction of entire communities. They add that the victims were mostly poor indigenous people belonging to Maya Achí people, accused of belonging to guerrillas and who could not exercise their right to defend themselves. They argue that the claim relates to alleged violations of human rights as enshrined in the American Convention, whose material responsibility involves the Guatemalan State because it was the result of an extermination policy implemented by the National Army under the leadership of various military governments; in connection in time and space. 10. They refer to multiple violent acts that took place from August 24, 1981 to August 17, 1986, allegedly planned by the Military High Command and implemented by the National Army, military 2 On that occasion the petitioners partially withdrew their briefs of July 15 and November 3, 2009, received by the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR on July 16 and November 5 respectively.