2 7. The communications of the Secretariat of the Inter-American Court (hereinafter “the Secretariat”) of March 11, May 2, June 25 and July 14, 2008, in which, on the instructions of the President of the Court (hereinafter “the President”), it reminded the representative of the beneficiaries of the provisional measures about the observations that should have been forwarded on February 21 and June 13, 2008, and which had not been submitted at the date of this Order. 8. The communication of the Secretariat of April 2, 2008, in which it reminded the State about the submission of the reports that should have been forwarded on December 8, 2007, and February 8, 2008, which had not been received and, at the date of this Order had not been submitted. CONSIDERING: 1. That Venezuela ratified the American Convention on August 9, 1977, and, pursuant to Article 62 thereof, accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court on June 24, 1981. 2. That Article 63(2) of the American Convention establishes that “in cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons,” the Court shall order such provisional measures as it deems pertinent in matters that have not yet been submitted to its consideration, at the request of the Commission. 3. That Article 1(1) of the Convention establishes the general obligation of the States Parties to respect the rights and freedoms recognized therein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms. To comply with this obligation to guarantee rights, the State Party has the obligation erga omnes to protect all persons subject to its jurisdiction.1 4. That, under international human rights law, provisional measures are not merely preventive, in that they preserve a juridical situation, but rather they are essentially protective, since they protect human rights, inasmuch as they seek to avoid irreparable damage to persons. Provided that the basic requirements of extreme gravity and urgency and the prevention of irreparable damage to persons are met, provisional measures become a real jurisdictional guarantee of a preventive nature.2 5. That, in the Order of the Court of July 3, 2007, the Court decided, inter alia, that the State must maintain and adopt the necessary measures to protect the life, integrity and personal liberty of Carlos Nieto Palma, and also the life and integrity of Ivonne Palma Sánchez (supra third having seen paragraph). 1 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez. Provisional measures with regard to Honduras. Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights of January 15, 1988, third considering paragraph; Case of the Gómez Paquiyauri Brothers. Provisional measures with regard to Peru. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of May 3, 2008, eighth considering paragraph; and Matter of the Urso Branco Prison. Provisional measures with regard to Brazil. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of May 2, 2008, nineteenth considering paragraph. 2 Case of Herrera Ulloa. Provisional measures with regard to Costa Rica. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of September 7, 2001, fourth considering paragraph; Matter of the Urso Branco Prison. Provisional measures with regard to Brazil. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of May 2, 2008, fourth considering paragraph; Case of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. Provisional measures with regard to Colombia. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of February 6, 2008, sixteenth considering paragraph; and Case of Caballero Delgado and Santana. Provisional measures with regard to Colombia. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of February 6, 2008, fifth considering paragraph.