seriousness of the facts and the context of the case.151 This aspect is analyzed in the chapter
on Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention (infra VII-3). Despite this, the Court reiterates that,
according to its consistent case law, the impunity that persists in the case, which resulted in
the denial of access to justice (infra para. 201) resulted in harm to the personal integrity of
the next of kin of the deceased victims.152 In cases of collective deprivation of life, the Court
considers that no evidence is required to prove the serious effects on the mental integrity of
the next of kin of the executed victims.153 The Court has considered that the right to mental
and moral integrity of the next of kin of the victims is violated based on the additional
suffering and anguish they have experienced owing to the subsequent acts or omissions of
the State authorities with regard to these facts, given the absence of effective remedies,154
and the prolonged impunity in the case.155 Thus, in this case the Court concludes that Article
5(1) of the Convention was violated to the detriment of the next of kin of the deceased
victims and the survivors.
b) Treatment of the survivors
106. The Court has observed that, following the pursuit and the truck accident, the
military agents required the survivors to lift the vehicle, remove and separate the dead and
the wounded, and put them into the ambulance (supra para. 50). Some of the survivors
were taken to a hospital. According to the testimony provided, the wounded were not
treated adequately or registered when being admitted to the hospital156 (supra para. 51).
107. Josier Maxime indicated that “[while he] was in the hospital, [… they] were not
attended to. [They] were placed in a vehicle with a soldier and deported.”157 In addition,
Noclair Florevilien indicated during the public hearing, with regard to the attention he
received in the hospital, that “it appeared that, at that moment, even the dogs were more
important than [they] were.”158
108. The Court notes that emergency medical care must be provided at all times for
irregular migrants; accordingly, the States must provide comprehensive health care taking
into account the needs of vulnerable groups. 159 Thus, the State must ensure that goods and
services related to health care are accessible to all, particularly the most vulnerable and
marginalized sectors of the population, without discrimination based on the prohibited
conditions set out in Article 1(1) of the Convention.160
151
Cf. Case of La Cantuta v. Peru. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 29, 2006. Series C No.
162, para. 157, and Case of González Medina and family members v. Dominican Republic. Preliminary objections,
merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of February 27, 2012. Series C No. 240, para. 220.
152
Cf. Case of Blake v. Guatemala. Merits. Judgment of January 24, 1998. Series C No. 36, para. 114, and
Case of Radilla Pacheco v. Mexico, supra, para. 161.
153
Cf. Case of the Mapiripán Massacre v. Colombia, supra, para. 146, and Case of the Las Dos Erres Massacre
v. Guatemala. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 24, 2009. Series C No.
211, para. 206..
154
Cf. Case of Blake v. Guatemala, supra, para. 114, and Case of the Río Negro Massacre v. Guatemala,
supra, para. 240.
155
Cf. Case of the Las Dos Erres Massacre v. Guatemala, supra, paras. 215 and 217.
156
The State indicated that, in keeping with the events that had occurred, the authorities assisted and offered
help to the victims, transferring them to the hospital so that would receive free specialized medical care in order to
protect their life and physical integrity (merits file, tome II, folio 925). However, this contradicts testimony of the
Director General of the Jose María Cabral Báez Regional University Hospital who stated that “[the] Haitian citizens
were neither received nor attended to in [the] Hospital.” Note of the Director General of the Hospital of July 11,
2012, supra, folio 4107.1.
157
Statement of Josier Maxime during the public hearing.
158
Statement of Noclair Florvilien during the public hearing.
159
Cf. Resolution 1509 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, para. 13.2
160
Cf. World Health Organization. International Migration Health and Human Rights. No. 4, December 2003.
33
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