2
5.
According to the request for provisional measures, the proceedings before the
Commission developed as follows:
6.
On August 21, 1992, the Commission received a request for provisional
measures from the petitioners. Their argument was that the minors were caught in a
situation which is being prolonged indefinitely and poses grave psychological risks to
them as a result of the suppression of their identities, their being withheld from their
family, and their remaining in the hands of persons who have been prosecuted for
crimes committed against them. This request was transmitted to the Government.
7.
By note of September 16, 1992, the Government countered that the claim was
not admissible because some important issues were still pending a decision by the
Judiciary. The Government informed the Commission that on September 7 of that same
year, the Office of the Attorney General had requested the Trial Judge to declare the
birth certificates of the minors to be null and void and to order their provisional
registration under the surname of REGGIARDO-TOLOSA, or under an assumed surname,
until such time as the family problem is resolved. It also reported that the preventive
custody of the MIARAs had been confirmed by the National Federal Court of Criminal and
Correctional Appeals of the Federal Capital because it had found them to be prima facie
criminally responsible for the crimes of concealment and withholding of minors and
misrepresentation of public documents accrediting the identity of persons.
8.
By note of March 11, 1993, the Commission declared the case admissible,
taking into account the fact that the minors had been identified as belonging to the
REGGIARDO-TOLOSA couple and the inability of the family members of the minors to file
appeals because they are deemed to be parties in the proceedings at which the custody
of said minors is to be decided. Pursuant to Article 46(2)(c) of the Convention, the
Commission determined that the unwarranted delay in rendering a final judgment
exempted the petition from the requirement of exhaustion of domestic remedies. In
accordance with Article 29 of its Regulations, the Commission furthermore requested
that the Government of Argentina adopt provisional measures to provide without delay
for the placement of the minor children in a foster home under temporary custody and to
arrange for them to receive appropriate psychological treatment under the supervision of
a professional appointed by their family, until such time as their delivery to their
legitimate family is settled.
9.
By note of June 2, 1993, the Government of Argentina responded to the request
for provisional measures by informing the Commission that, on April 15, the Federal
Judge with jurisdiction over Custody Arrangements for Minors had ordered two hearings
to be held with the purpose of placing the minor children under temporary custody in a
foster home. The Government also reported that the annulment of the birth registration
of the MIARA minors had been ordered, and that they had been registered under the
name of REGGIARDO-TOLOSA.
10.
Nevertheless, on August 19, 1993, the Commission received a communication
from the Association of Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, informing it that no steps had
been taken to transfer the minors to a foster home. Consequently, they asked the
Commission, pursuant to Article 63 of the Convention, to request the Inter-American
Court to order provisional measures to ensure that the Argentine Government place the
minors in a foster home.
6.
The Commission considers that the situation giving rise to the petition is
grave because "the longer [it] . . . is allowed to continue without justification, the
more serious the mental condition of the minors becomes" and is further
exacerbated by the suppression of their identities and by the fact that they are not
being returned to their legitimate family or transferred to a foster home under
temporary custody;
7.
The Commission also believes that justice has been unjustifiably delayed, for
the identity of the minors had already been established in 1989. Nevertheless, they
continue to be held by the very persons who are being prosecuted for committing