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[PERSONAL INTEGRITY] OF JUAN GELMAN, AND THE OBLIGATION TO
RESPECT RIGHTS
102. In the present chapter the Court will analyze, in the light of the
acknowledgment of international responsibility, the facts and alleged violations of
human rights presented by the Commission and the representatives to the detriment
of María Macarena Gelman, namely: the right to juridical personality, the protection
of the family, the right to a name, the rights of the child, the right to nationality, the
right to humane treatment [personal integrity], and the right to privacy [honor and
dignity], recognized in the Articles 3, 17, 18, 19, 20, 5, and 11 of the Convention,
respectively. Likewise, in this chapter the Tribunal will assess the alleged violations
of the rights recognized in the Articles 5 and 11 of the Convention, to the detriment
of Juan Gelman.
A. Arguments of the parties.
103.
The Commission alleged that:
a. in relation to Article 3 of the American Convention, that: “[t]he
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
appropriation of María Macarena by the security forces of Uruguay
prevented her from having a true juridical personality upon reaching adult
age”;
María Macarena did not know her true identity, since she lived with a false
identity and a false private life, even though she was unaware that it was
false;
not knowing the truth that her biological mother had been disappeared, the
juridical personality of Maria Macarena prevented her from seeking a
remedy in the Uruguayan judicial system in order to investigate the
circumstances of her birth in captivity and the circumstances that resulted
in the death of her mother while under the custody of the Uruguayan
security forces;
the "impunity offered by the State to the perpetrators of the crimes of
kidnapping, arbitrary and illegal detention, and extrajudicial execution
perpetuated the false superstructure of the lie that Maria Macarena lived for
the first 23 years of her life";
Uruguay did not offer María Macarena special measures of protection
required by children, to which Article 19 of the Convention was violated to
her detriment;
in relation to Article 17 of the Convention, “[t]he fact that the State did not
investigate the fate of Maria Claudia and the disappearance of her daughter,
born in captivity, also contributed to the suffering of Juan Gelman and his
next of kin, since they did not know if their granddaughter was alive or
dead, and they were unable to share a family life during the childhood and
adolescent years of Maria Macarena, a situation that was even more
moving, given what had occurred to her parents";
in regard to Article 20 of the American Convention, “[g]iven that María
Macarena is the daughter of Argentine parents born in Uruguay [and]
notwithstanding, given that the State did not clarify the circumstances of
her birth, she was deprived of her Argentine nationality and identity";
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