The facts of the case concern the paramilitary incursion and the massacre of 49 rural farmers by paramilitaries, with the collaboration and acquiescence of members of the National Army, between July 15 and 20, 1997, in the province of Mapiripán, Meta region. The victims were detained, tortured, executed and/or disappeared, which led to a mass displacement of the region’s inhabitants.

The IA Court developed standards regarding the State’s responsibility for the acts of individuals in cases of actions or failure to act by State agents in the position of guarantors of the obligations to respect and protect. Additionally, it highlighted the value of the standards of international humanitarian law for the interpretation of the American Convention, and it referred to the special State obligations relating to children in a situation of domestic armed conflict, given their particular vulnerability. It also extended its jurisprudence on the content and scope of the right to movement and residence, in relation to the forced displacement suffered by the victims and the wide range of rights that are affected as a consequence.