38
vi.
amend Section 10 of Law No. 123/52, regarding the
organization of CIMEFOR, to prevent the inclusion of minors under the
age of 18 in this regime;
vii.
design training material and regular courses in human rights for
all recruitment, promotion and training programs available to the
members of the Paraguayan Armed Forces, including international
standards and rules regarding the involvement of minors in
compulsory military service and the international law principles in force
regarding the use of force;
viii.
prepare educational material (audiovisual presentations) on the
case of Vargas-Areco to be distributed on an annual basis at
elementary and secondary schools, to thus illustrate the conditions
and risks associated with compulsory military service;
ix.
implement regular training courses for the members of the
Attorney General’s Office, Judicial Power, Police and Forensic
Physicians Group regarding the gathering and assessment of forensic
evidence;
x.
name “Gerardo Vargas-Areco” the street where the residence of
Gerardo’s relatives is located and affix a commemorative plaque on
the site;
xi.
pass a law to offer reparation to all victims of death, torture,
abuse and mistreatment while in compulsory military service in
Paraguay; and
xii.
provide full medical treatment, on a permanent and continuous
basis, to the relatives of Gerardo and, particularly, to Mrs. De Belén;
e)
as regards to costs and expenses, the Court must order the State to:
i.
pay SERPAJ PY US$ 9,017 (nine thousand seventeen United
States dollars) for the expenses incurred during domestic and
international proceedings; and
ii.
pay CEJIL US$ 23,383.83 (twenty-three thousand, three
hundred and eighty-three United States dollars and eighty-three
cents) for the expenses incurred during proceedings before the
international jurisdiction, for which CEJIL submitted vouchers in the
amount of US$ 8,601.90 (eight thousand, six hundred and one United
States dollars, and ninety cents).
Arguments of the State
137.
The State argued that:
a)
as part of its ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict,
the State signed and deposited a declaration which sets forth that 18 years
old is the minimum age for recruitment into the Paraguayan Armed Forces,
and the Commander of the Military Forces of Paraguay had signed a project
that would be sent to the National Congress to amend Law No. 569/75
(“Compulsory Military Service”) and Law No. 123/52 (regarding CIMEFOR), in
relation to the minimum age for recruitment into the Armed Forces;
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