C) Comprehensive measures of reparation: restitution, rehabilitation,
satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition
C.1. Restitution
254. The representatives asked the Court to ensure that the members of family A who
wish to return to their village can do so in conditions of safety. Neither the Commission
nor the State referred to this specific point.
255. In this case, the Court established that on December 31, 2004 C.A., B.A. and their
children L.A. and N.A., as well as E.A. and her children J.A. and K.A., left their places of
residence due to a lack of protection from the State (supra paras. 168 and 169). It also
confirmed that Mrs. B.A. returned to Santa Lucía, but did not return to her home (supra
para. 171). However, the Court does not have information regarding the current places of
residence of Mrs. B.A. or of the other individuals mentioned. Mrs. C.A. died on June 4,
2010.
256. In order to contribute to obtain redress for displaced victims, the Court considers
that the State must guarantee adequate conditions of safety so that B.A., E.A., L.A., N.A.,
J.A. and K.A., can return to their places of residence, if appropriate and if they so wish,
without this representing an additional expense for the beneficiaries of this measure. The
Court grants these individuals a period of one year, as of the notification of this Judgment,
to inform the State of their intention to return, if that is the case. If, within this period, the
victims express their wish to return to their places of residence, a period of two years will
be granted so that the victims and the State can agree on the pertinent arrangements for
the State to comply with this measure of reparation, such as paying the removal expenses
of the family members and their belongings. If, on the contrary, the victims do not
express their wish to return within a period of one year, the Court will consider that they
have relinquished this measure of reparation.
C.2. Rehabilitation
257. The representatives asked the Court to order the State to “[e]nsure appropriate
medical and psychological treatment for the direct and indirect victims […] through a
private insurance scheme.” The State pointed out that the relatives of Mr. A.A. had not
expressed their wish to receive psychological support. It also held that “there is no
evidence that the deterioration in the health [of the relatives] is due to this case […or
that] it has deteriorated in general.” Similarly, it affirmed that it has a public health
system and that “in no way would it be possible to compensate victims through private
entities.” Furthermore, it pointed out that “the State has already been ordered
compensate this family for the ‘Diario Militar’ case, in which they also claimed to have
suffered psychological damage.” The Commission did not refer to this point.
258. In this regard, the Court has evidence confirming that the members of family A
suffered consequences as a result of the impunity surrounding A.A.’s death, 367 and that
E.A., K.A. and J.A. suffered as a result of having to leave their community and, in the case
of B.A., L.A. and N.A., 368 as a consequence of their forced displacement to Mexico.
Therefore, the Court considers that the State must provide, through its specialized health
institutions, and free of charge, immediate, adequate and effective psychological and
psychiatric treatment required by the victims, with their prior informed consent and for the
time necessary, including the free provision of medicines. The respective treatment must
be provided, insofar as possible, at the health centers nearest to their places of
residence. 369 The victims have a period of six months, counted from the notification of this
Judgment, to request said treatment from the State.
367
Cf. Psychosocial Evaluation of H.M. (File of attachments to submission brief, pages 1412 to 1428).
Regarding the State’s objection that the “psychosocial report [of Mrs. H.M.] was not carried out with the sufficient
depth required for an expert report of this nature, since interviews with 22 persons lasting between 1 and 2 hours
are not sufficient to determine the psychosocial damage that the family of [A.A.] may have suffered,” the Court
confirms that the State did not indicate the reasons why this methodology was inadequate, nor did it provide
evidence to support this statement; therefore it considers these arguments to be unfounded.
368
Cf. Psychosocial Evaluation of H.M. (File of attachments to submission brief, pages 1425 and 1426).
369
Cf. Case of Cantoral Benavides v. Peru. Reparations and Costs. Judgment of December 3, 2001. Series C
No. 88, para. 51, and Case of Norín Catrimán et al. (Leaders, members and activist of the Mapuche Indigenous
People) v. Chile, supra, paras. 425 and 426.
74
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