final release by installing closed-circuit video surveillance systems, a commitment that had
already been fulfilled. It likewise indicated that it had already taken a first step toward
adopting institutional measures to address discrimination, such as by overhauling the
leadership of the Instituto Nacional contra la Discriminación, el Racismo y la Xenofobia
(National Institute against Discrimination, Racism and Xenophobia, INADI) and the
implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent. It also noted a
reform of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Nation that broadened the categories of people
who can become complainants.
17. The representatives indicated that “it was only on March 10, 2020 that the Argentine
State officially recognized the full magnitude and significance of its responsibility." However,
they stated that this recognition does not erase the fact that “for 15 years, the Argentine
State continued with the policy of concealment and impunity that has been denounced since
April 5, 1996, with the aggravating circumstance that, over the course of those 15 years,
the cover-up was in the hands of the State representatives responsible for protecting the
rights of the victims, not guaranteeing impunity for the perpetrators.” They indicated that
the State’s position throughout the process was to delay it unnecessarily and make false
promises to the victim's relatives. They therefore asked that a judgment be issued finding
the State responsible and granting measures of reparation requested, especially the
measures of non-repetition.
18. The Commission “welcome[d] and appreciate[d] the State’s recognition.” It also
stressed that "it constitutes a step toward reestablishing the rights of the victims and
providing reparations for the violations found." However, it stressed that it should still be
noted that “the State has not made public, neither to the Commission nor even to family”
the content of the technical report on the case prepared by the Office of the Special
Prosecutor against Interinstitutional Violence (hereinafter PROCUVIN). It therefore asked
the Court to “declare the human rights violations found by the Commission in its Merits
Report and fully recognized by the Argentine State during the public hearing."
B. Considerations of the Court
19. Pursuant to Articles 62 and 64 of the Rules of Procedure, and in exercise of its authority
in relation to the international protection of human rights, a matter of international law, the
Court must ensure that acts of recognition of responsibility are acceptable for the purposes
pursued by the inter-American system.13 The Court will now proceed to analyze the situation
in this specific case.
B.1. Regarding the facts
20. During the public hearing, Argentina acknowledged responsibility for the facts alleged
by the Commission in the Merits Report, which was reiterated in its final arguments brief.
The Court therefore finds there is no longer a dispute between the parties regarding the
arrest, detention and subsequent death of José Delfín Acosta Martínez, as well as regarding
the actions carried out by his relatives in order to clarify the truth of the facts.
B.2. Regarding the legal claims
Cf. Case of Manuel Cepeda Vargas v. Colombia. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs.
Judgment dated May 26, 2010. Series C No. 213, para. 17, and Case of Guzmán Albarracín et al v. Ecuador.
Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of June 24, 2020. Series C No. 405, para. 19.
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