9. By a note received on October 24, the petitioners filed their observations on the State’s response to the petition. 10. Through a submission dated April 20, 2006, the petitioners supplied the additional information requested of them in connection with the background of the petition. 11. The additional information supplied by the petitioners was forwarded to the State on May 11, 2006. III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES A. The petitioners 12. According to the information that the petitioners supplied to the Commission on the aforementioned date, and which was the basis of the petition they lodged, the State is alleged to have incurred in international responsibility in the murder of the landless rural worker Manoel Luiz da Silva, on May 19, 1997, on the property of the “Fazenda Engenho Taipu” in the town of “São Miguel de Taipu”, state of Paraíba, Brazil, which property was in the process of being expropriated because of public utility reasons, for purposes of agrarian reform. 13. The petitioners further allege that on May 19, 1997, the alleged victim was traveling in the company of three other landless workers (Joao Maximiniano da Silva, Manoel da Silva and Sebastiao da Silva), all of whom lived in a camp of landless workers located on the “Fazenda Amarelo” located in that community and run by the “National Settlement and Agrarian Reform Institute.” The four landless workers had traveled from the settlement in which they lived to a store in the closest town. As they were returning to the camp, at approximately 4:00 p.m., they went by way of a wagon road that crossed the property of the “Fazenda Engenho Taipu,” owned by Mr. Alcides Vieira de Azevedo. On that road they encountered three private security guards in the employ of the aforesaid landowner. The guards, identified as José Caetano da Silva, Severino Lima da Silva and Marcelo Silva Wanderley, were on horseback and heavily armed. They told the 4 landless workers in question that they were not allowed to use that road and that the afore-named property owner, had instructed them to kill any landless workers who might be in the vicinity of his ranch. After threatening them thus, the security guards told the workers to put down the objects they were carrying, consisting of three sickles and a knife. After hurling insults at them having to do with the fact that they were landless workers, Manoel Luiz da Silva was hit by a bullet fired at close range, and died instantly. Two of the other landless workers with him (Manoel Luiz da Silva [whose name is the same as 3