Order of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights*
of July 12, 2007
Provisional Measures ordered by the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Regarding Guatemala
Case of Colotenango
HAVING SEEN:
1.
The Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Court” or
“the Inter-American Court”) of June 22, 1994, which, inter alia,:
[...]
1.
Require[d] the Government of Guatemala to adopt without delay all necessary measures
to protect the right to life and the personal integrity of PATRICIA ISPANEL MEDIMILLA, MARCOS
GODÍNEZ PÉREZ, NATIVIDAD GODÍNEZ PÉREZ, MARÍA SALES LÓPEZ, RAMIRO GODÍNEZ PÉREZ,
JUAN GODÍNEZ PÉREZ, MIGUEL GODÍNEZ DOMINGO, ALBERTO GODÍNEZ, MARÍA GARCÍA
DOMINGO, GONZALO GODÍNEZ LÓPEZ, ARTURO FEDERICO MÉNDEZ ORTIZ and ALFONSO
MORALES JIMÉNEZ.
2.
Request[ed] the Government of Guatemala to adopt all necessary measures to ensure
that the aforementioned persons may continue to reside at or return to their homes in
Colotenango, providing them the assurances that they shall not be persecuted or threatened by
agents of the Government or by individuals.
2.
The Order of the Court of December 1, 1994, which expanded the provisional
measures adopted to protect Mrs. Francisca Sales Martín and required the Government of
Guatemala (hereinafter “the State” or “Guatemala”), “to use all the means at its disposal to
enforce the arrest warrants issued against the 13 patrol members charged as suspects in the
case before the Second Trial Court of Huehuetenango involving the criminal acts which took
place on August 3, 1993, in Colotenango.”
3.
The Order of the Court of February 1 1996, which called upon the State of
Guatemala, further to the measures already in place, to institute mechanisms of control and
vigilance over the civil patrols operating in Colotenango.
4.
The March 13, 1997 Report No. 19/97, in which the Case of Colotenango was
resolved using the Inter-American Commission’s friendly settlement mechanism.
5.
The Order of the Court of April 16 1997, which ordered the State to “to maintain the
provisional measures [adopted] in the instant case as long as the circumstances [of extreme
gravity and urgency which provoked the adoption of such measures] persist.”
*
Due to reasons beyond his control, Judge Diego García-Sayán did not participate in the deliberations or the
signing of the present ruling.