REPORT No. 12/15
CASE 11.458
REPORT ON ADMISSIBILITY AND MERITS
JORGE VÁSQUEZ DURAND AND FAMILY
ECUADOR
MARCH 23RD, 2015
I.
SUMMARY
1.
On March 9, 1995, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter "the InterAmerican Commission" or "the IACHR") received a complaint lodged by María Esther Gomero Cuentas de
Vásquez and, on April 7, 1995, a complaint filed by both her and the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos
(APRODEH) ("Association for Human Rights in Peru") (hereinafter "the petitioners"). Both petitions alleged
that Mr. Jorge Vásquez Durand (hereinafter :the alleged victim" or "Mr. Vásquez”), a merchant, of Peruvian
nationality, had crossed the border between Peru and Ecuador on January 30, 1995 and had been detained by
agents of the Ecuadorian State during a period of conflict between the two countries. Since then his
whereabouts remain unknown.
2.
The petitioners allege that the State of Ecuador (hereinafter also referred to as "the
Ecuadorian State," "Ecuador," or "the State") is guilty of violating articles 5 (right to human treatment), 7
(right to personal liberty), and 22 (freedom of movement and residence) of the American Convention on
Human Rights (hereinafter 'the Convention" or "the American Convention").
3.
On April 25, 1995, the IACHR began its initial processing of the case, in accordance with its
Rules of Procedure in force at that time, and forwarded the complaint to the Ecuadorian State. On April 8 and
July 7, 2003, the Commission informed the parties that, pursuant to Article 37.3 of those Rules of Procedure, it
had decided to defer its treatment of admissibility until the debate and decision on the merits.
4.
The State submitted the objection that domestic remedies had not been exhausted. It
considered that the petition was manifestly groundless and out of order and that it did not state facts that
tend to establish a violation of human rights. For those reasons, it requested that the petition be declared
inadmissible. Following publication of the Truth Commission's Report in 2010, which included the case,1 the
State reiterated its arguments about failure to exhaust domestic remedies and maintained that "it has not
been proved that State agents participated in the alleged disappearance of Mr. Jorge Vásquez, so that the
Ecuadorian State had incurred no liability."2
5.
After reviewing the positions of the parties and pursuant to the requirements set forth in
articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention, the Commission concluded that it is competent to hear the
complaint lodged, with respect to rights protected under articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 25 of the Convention, in
conjunction with articles 1.1 and 2 of that same instrument; and to articles I and II on the Inter-American
Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons (hereinafter "IACFDP"). Based on its analysis of the merits, it
concluded that the Ecuadorian State is liable for violations of rights protected under articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and
25 of the Convention, in conjunction with articles 1.1 and 2 of that same instrument, all to the detriment of
Jorge Vásquez Durand. As regards the family members of the victim, the IACHR concluded that the State is
liable for the violation of articles 5, 8, and 25 of the American Convention, in conjunction with article 1.1 of
that same international instrument.
1 In 2010, the Truth Commission in Ecuador included the case under the heading "torture, forced disappearance, illegal
deprivation of liberty" and in 2013 the State enacted a law acknowledging "its objective liability in respect of the human rights violations
documented by the Truth Commission."
2
Note by the State of Ecuador of August 25, 2014.
1