ORDER OF THE
INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
OF FEBRUARY 22, 2011
PROVISIONAL MEASURES WITH REGARD TO HAITI
MATTER OF A.J. ET AL.*
HAVING SEEN:
1.
The Order of the then President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
(hereinafter “the Inter-American Court” or “the Court”) of August 24, 2009 (hereinafter
“the Order of the President” or “Order for urgent measures”), in which she required the
State to adopt, forthwith, all necessary measures to protect the life and personal
integrity of A. J., J. L., Sterlin Joudain, Michelet Laguerre, Pierre Luc Sael and André
Junior Laurore.
2.
The Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of September 21, 2009
(hereinafter “the Order on provisional measures), which ratified the Order of the
President of the Court. It also expanded the provisional measures to protect the life
and personal integrity of the next of kin of the beneficiaries Sterlin Joudain, Michelet
Laguerre, Pierre Luc Sael and André Junior Laurore. However, the Court admitted this
expansion of the measures to the said next of kin on a provisional basis, while awaiting
further information on the individual situation, the existence, the nature, and the origin
or source of risk.
3.
The brief of October 6, 2009, in which the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”)
advised, inter alia, of the decease of S. J., a relative of one of the beneficiaries, on
September 28, 2009; before he died, he had indicated “that the men who beat him
rebuked him for having sought help [...] in the case of the rape” of his relative.
However, no request was made to expand the measures to other members of the
family based on this fact.
4.
The communication of October 16, 2009, whereby the Secretariat of the Court
(hereinafter “the Secretariat”), on the instructions of the then President of the Court,
reminded the State that the deadline for forwarding its report had expired on October
14, 2009, without the Secretariat of the Court having received the report. It asked the
State to forward it as soon as possible.
*
In the Order of August 24, 2009, the President of the Court considered it appropriate not to publish
the identity of two of the beneficiaries of the urgent measures ordered, owing to the nature of the alleged
violations reported and considering the age of one of them at the time of the facts. However, the State was
informed of their names, confidentially, so that it could offer them the protection required in the Order.
Furthermore, the President asked the representatives and the Commission for their opinion on the need to
maintain the identity of these two individuals in any future decisions of the Court. The Inter-American
Commission responded that “the confidentiality of their identity should be maintained as required by the
President in her Order of August 24, 2009.”