11 Moreover, the State does not refer to any administrative measures it has undertaken, and ii. the State should include a detailed report regarding the administrative and criminal investigations, as well as their results thus far. CONSIDERING: 1. That Venezuela has been a State Party to the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention” or “the Convention”) since August 9, 1977 and that it accepted the binding jurisdiction of the Court on June 24, 1981. 2. That Article 63(2) of the Convention establishes that “[i]n cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court shall adopt such provisional measures as it deems pertinent in matters it has under consideration. With respect to a case not yet submitted to the Court, it may act at the request of the Commission”. 3. That in this regard, Article 25 of the Rules of Procedure provides as follows: 1. At any stage of the proceedings involving cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court may, at the request of a party or on its own motion, order such provisional measures as it deems pertinent, pursuant to Article 63(2) of the Convention. [...] 6. The beneficiaries of the provisional measures or urgent measures ordered by the President may address their comments on the report made by the State directly to the Court. The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights shall present observations to the State’s report and to the observations of the beneficiaries or their representatives. 4. That Article 1(1) of the Convention sets forth the general obligation of the State Parties to respect the rights and freedoms enshrined in said Convention and to guarantee their free and full enjoyment by any person under its jurisdiction. 5. That in International Human Rights Law, provisional measures are not only of a precautionary nature in the sense that they preserve a certain legal status, but they are also fundamentally protective of human rights, in the sense that they seek to avoid irreparable damage to persons. The measures are applied as long as the basic requirements of extreme gravity and urgency and the prevention of irreparable damage to persons are met. It is in this way that provisional measures are transformed into a true preventative judicial guarantee. 1 6. That the merits of the case that gave rise to these provisional measures is not at present before the Court, and the issuance of provisional measures does not involve a decision on the merits of the dispute existing between petitioners and the State. In ordering provisional measures, the Court is only exercising its powers under the Convention, in cases 1 Cf. Case of the Constitutional Court. Provisional Measures. Order of the President of the Court of April 7, 2000, Considering paragraph eleventh; Matter of Ramírez Hinostroza et al. Provisional Measures. Order of the Inter-American Court of May 17, 2007, Considering paragraph fifth, and Case of 19 Tradesmen. Provisional Measures. Order of the Inter-American Court of May 12, 2007, Considering paragraph sixth.