207.
First, the Commission observes that up until 2001 there was so regulation whatsoever by the
State in relation to safety measures for the divers. The Commission takes note of the information of the State
with respect to the adoption, in 2001, of the Regulation for Safety and Occupational Health in Underwater
Fishing. Nonetheless, the IACHR does not have information that indicates that it has been effectively
implemented. For example, the State did not show that it had incorporated an occupational safety inspector on
each vessel registered with the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security.311 The Commission notes that in any
event the Regulation mentioned does not contain standards that established measures of inspection or
oversight by the State.
208.
Second, the Honduran State has not produced any information that shows that it had taken
diligent measures to ensure that the vessels on which the 34 accidents occurred that are referred to in the facts
proven had adopted the safety measures required before they were granted operating permits.
209.
Third, the record does not include any exhibit that indicates that the state authorities
performed any inspection or oversight in the zone at any moment of the extended timeframe in which the 34
accidents described in the facts proven took place, to verify that underwater fishing by the companies did not
constitute a risk to the life and integrity of the divers who worked on them. This omission is especially serious
considering the many contextual elements that show that this problem was widespread and known to the State.
210.
Based on what has been said thus far, the Commission observes that at the time of the 34
accidents analyzed in this section, the omission or indifference on the part of the State with respect to the
problem that gave rise to those accidents not only constituted an absolute lack of prevention; in view of its
special seriousness and the level of abandonment by the State, it can also be understood as a form of tolerance.
The Commission emphasizes that the State has recognized that the Mosquitia region is very difficult to access
and is characterized by very little state presence.
211.
In view of the foregoing, the Commission concludes that the State is responsible for violating
the right to humane treatment established at Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1)
of the same instrument, to the detriment of the 34 Miskito divers who suffered the accidents analyzed in this
point. In addition, in relation to the 12 persons who died moments after the accident, the Commission considers
that the State is responsible for violating the right to life established at article 4(1) of the American Convention,
in relation to articles 1(1) and 2 of the same instrument.
3.2
On the victims who died and disappeared as a result of a fire
212.
The Commission has considered it proven that on March 15, 2000 Miskito divers Hildo
Ambrosio Trino, Andrés Miranda Clemente, Lorenzo Leman Bonaparte, Bernardo Julián Trino, José Trino Pérez
Nacril, Rómulo Flores Henríquez, and Amilton Bonaparte Clemente were on a fishing vessel that caught fire as
the result of the explosion of a butane tank. According to the documentation produced, the remains of Hildo
Ambrosio were recovered. To date the whereabouts of the remains of the other six victims are still unknown.
213.
The incident is consistent with the context, according to which the vessels used in the
underwater fishing for which the Miskito divers were hired were old and the equipment was not subject to
periodic checks. In addition, the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Ethnic Groups and Cultural Heritage
(Fiscalía Especial de Etnias y Patrimonio Cultural) of Honduras recorded, in a report from 2001, accidents due
to the explosion of cylinders or tanks. This was due to the poor condition of that equipment.
214.
The Commission understands that the considerations set forth in the previous section on
breach of the duty of the State to regulate, oversee, and inspect underwater fishing in the zone by Miskito divers
also apply to the analysis of attribution of international responsibility on this point. The Commission further
observes that the State failed to adopt any measure to attempt to locate the remains of the six Miskito divers
who are disappeared, and that, as analyzed below, no investigation was opened to clarify the facts or determine
the corresponding liabilities.
311
Regulation on Occupational Safety and Health in Underwater Fishing. Article 9.
37
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