39
should allow itself the space to heal and, in turn, the community, because we see that this was the
result of the war, the war affected the community where that family lived.”201
115. Accordingly, the Court concludes that the State violated Articles 11(2) and 17 of the American
Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of the next of kin named in paragraph
34 supra.
116. That said, regarding the right to identity, the Court has established in its case law –specifically
in the cases of Gelman v. Uruguay and Contreras et al. v. El Salvador- that this right “can be
conceptualized, in general, as a collection of attributes and characteristics that allow for the
individualization of a person in society. In that sense, it includes several other rights according to the
subject of the rights in question and the circumstances of the case.”202 Thus, personal identity is
intimately linked to a person’s specific individuality and private life, both of which are based on an
historical and biological experience, and on the way in which each individual relates to others through
the development of social and family ties.203 Moreover, the Court has recognized that identity is a
right that encompasses several elements, including nationality, name and family relationships.204 In
this regard, the Court recalls that the American Convention protects those elements as rights in
themselves. However, not all of these rights will necessarily be involved in all cases linked to the right
to identity. In the instant case, the impairment of the right to identity is reflected in arbitrary or
abusive acts of interference in private and family life, as well as in its effects on the right to protection
of the family and to enjoy family relationships.
117. Therefore, in the circumstances of the instant case, and taking into consideration the terms of
the American Convention, interpreted in light of Article 31 of the Vienna Convention, the Court finds
that the series of violations of the rights established in the American Convention that were analyzed
constitute a violation of the right to identity, which is inherent to the human being according to Article
29 (c) of the American Convention, and is stipulated expressly in the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
C.
Right to personal integrity of the next of kin
C.1
Arguments of the parties and of the Commission
118. Both the Commission and the representatives alleged the violation of the right to personal
integrity of the next of kin of the disappeared children José Adrián Rochac Hernández, Santos Ernesto
Salinas, Emelinda Lorena Hernández, Manuel Antonio Bonilla and Ricardo Abarca Ayala, owing to the
suffering caused by their disappearance and the uncertainty regarding their fate or whereabouts. For
its part, the State acknowledged the violation of Article 5 of the Convention to the detriment of the
next of kin, based on the findings contained in the Commission’s merits report (supra para. 20).
C.2
Considerations of the Court
Expert opinion rendered by Martha de la Concepción Cabrera Cruz before the Inter-American Court at the public hearing
held on April 1, 2014.
201
Case of Gelman v. Uruguay. Merits and reparations. Judgment of February 24, 2011. Series C No. 221, para. 122, and
Case of Fornerón and Daughter v. Argentina, supra, para. 123.
202
Cf. Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, supra, para. 113, and Case of Fornerón and Daughter v. Argentina, supra,
para. 123.
203
204
Cf. Case of Gelman v. Uruguay, supra, para. 122, and Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, supra, para. 112.