The events of the case relate to the bombing carried out by the Colombian Air Force, planned in conjunction with the National Army and staff from the foreign oil company Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXI), on December 13, 1998, in the Santo Domingo lane, Tame province, Arauca, a region where the most important activity is oil extraction. As a result of the bombing, 17 people were killed, 6 of them children, an additional 27 people were injured, 10 of them children, and more than a hundred people were displaced. The events of the case occurred in the context of the Colombian armed conflict and the active participation of members of the Colombian Armed Forces in acts against the civil population.

The IA Court emphasized its authority and the need to interpret the scope of treaty obligations in the light of the instruments of international humanitarian law. In particular it analyzed the principles regarding non-international armed conflicts, namely the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. The IA Court extended its jurisprudence regarding the rights of children, highlighting the State’s responsibility for failure to comply with the obligation of special protection in the framework of a non-international armed conflict.