"One does not combat terror with terror, but rather within the
framework of the Law. Those who resort to the use of brute force
brutalize themselves, creating a spiral of widespread violence that ends
up turning the innocent (…) into victims. (...)
Brute force generates brute force, and at the end, what do we
have? Nothing, general devastation, the breakdown of the social fabric,
vengeance, torture, and summary executions and other grave violations
of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law,
the transformation of human beings into mere instruments of
confrontation and destruction –opening wounds that will require
generations to heal." (paras. 46-47)
80.
In confirmation of the understanding held by the Court regarding the matter in
examination, the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism (2002) states, in its
Article 15, that the measures adopted by the States Parties pursuant to its regulations
“will be carried out with full respect for the rule of Law, human rights, and fundamental
freedoms.” (para. 1) It immediately safeguards the conventional obligations of the States
Parties pursuant to “International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law,
and International Refugee Law.” (para. 2) And it adds that “any person who is taken into
custody or regarding whom any other measures are taken or proceedings are carried out
pursuant to this Convention shall be guaranteed fair treatment, including the enjoyment
of all rights and guarantees in conformity with the law of the state in the territory of
which that person is present and applicable provisions of international law."60
3.
Victims and Precisions with regard to the Applicable Law.
81.
In my General Course of International Public Law,61 offered in the Academy of
International Law of The Hague in 2005, when referring to the Final Reports of
contemporary Commissions of Truth,62 I allowed myself to state precisely that
.
I was present, as President at that time of the Inter-American Court, in the
General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) of 2002, held in
Bridgetown, Barbados, upon the adoption of the Inter-American Convention Against
Terrorism and in the three days that preceded it. I remember that the insertion of the
important Article 15 in the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism resulted from a
successful Latin American diplomatic initiative, presented at the last minute during the
final stage of its travaux préparatoires, a little before the adoption of the mentioned
Convention in the full session of 06.03.2002 of the General Assembly of the OAS
(resolution AG/RES.1840 (XXXII-0/02)). The mentioned Article 15 must receive credit for
enshrining, in an unmistakable manner, the protection of human rights in midst of the
fight against terrorism.
60
.
Chapter XV, on the responsibility for international crimes and universal
jurisdiction.
61
.
Cf., e.g., inter alia, Commission on Truth and Reconciliation [CVR], Final Report –
General Conclusions, Lima/Peru, CVR, 2003, pp. 11-20, 30 and 34-43, and cf. pp. 24 and
26-29; and for a recent evaluation, cf. Defensoría del Pueblo [DP], A Dos Años de la
Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación, Lima/Perú, DP/Informe Defensorial n. 97, 2005,
pp. 17-333.
62
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