currently pending before the Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza. The
Commission observes that there is insufficient information on this victim to be able
to issue a pronouncement on whether said motion for reconsideration is appropriate
for carrying out this recommendation. With respect to the other victims, the State
indicated that the possibility of commuting the sentence has been explored.
Nonetheless, there is no information on specific steps taken on this point, or on the
possibility of the victims having a review of their convictions in keeping with the
recommendation in the report on the merits. In summary, the Commission observes
that this recommendation has yet to be carried out, and that the procedural
situation of the victims continues unchanged.
With respect to the recommendation to ensure that the victims get the
medical care they need as long as they are deprived of liberty, the State reported
that all the youths receive such care based on their needs. The Commission does
not have sufficient information to evaluate whether this recommendation has been
carried out, and reiterates the importance of the State continuing to provide the
medical care they need so long as the victims remain under its custody.
As regards the recommendation to adopt the legislative and other measures
for the system of criminal justice applicable to adolescents for conduct committed
when they were under 18 years of age to be compatible with the State’s
international obligations as regards special protection for children and the purpose
of the penalty, the State referred to the legislative initiative called “Criminal Justice
Regime applicable to Persons under 18 Years of Age in Conflict with the Criminal
Law,” which is said to be before the Chamber of Deputies under File No. 0130-S2009. The information available indicates that to date no modification whatsoever
of the Argentine juvenile criminal justice system has been implemented.
As for the recommendation to adopt legislative and other measures to ensure
effective observance of the right enshrined in Article 8(2)(h) of the American
Convention, the State indicated that at present a preliminary bill is before the
Executive related to Article 8(2)(h) of the Convention. This preliminary bill was
introduced by a group of petitioners in the context of a petition that is pending
before the IACHR. Based on the information provided, it does not appear that the
Argentine authorities have adopted specific measures aimed at bringing Argentina’s
domestic legislation into line with what is established in Article 8(2)(h) of the
Convention.
As for the recommendation to undertake a complete, impartial, and effective
investigation within a reasonable time to clarify the death of Ricardo David Videla
Fernández and, if appropriate, to impose the corresponding sanctions, including
determining possible liabilities for the omissions or breaches of the duty to prevent
of the public officials under whose custody the victim was in, the State reported
that the victim’s representative requested the case be reopened on February 28,
2011. The IACHR observes that to date the case is still archived, and that the State
has not adopted any measure whatsoever to order, on its own initiative, that the
investigations into the death of the young Videla Fernández continue.