52 procedural initiative of the victims or their next of kin or of the bearing of evidence from the private sector.183 From this obligation, once the State authorities are notified of the facts, they must initiate ex officio and without delay, a serious, impartial, and effective investigation.184 This investigation must be carried out in all of the available legal venues and be aimed at determining the truth. 139. The Court has also noted that from Article 8 of the Convention, what can be gathered is that victims of human rights violations, or their next of kin, should have ample possibilities to be heard and act in the respective procedures, in the search to ascertain the facts and in the punishment of those responsible, as well as the search for due reparation. Moreover, the Court has noted that the obligation to investigate and the corresponding right of the alleged victim or their next of kin cannot be gathered merely from the conventional norms of international law which are imperative for the States Parties, but also from the right to investigate ex oficio certain illicit conduct and the norms that permit the victims or their next of kin to file a complaint or present a lawsuit, evidence, or applications, or any other matter, in order to participate procedurally in the criminal investigation with the hope of establishing the truth of the facts.185 140. In addition, the obligation pursuant to international law to prosecute, and if criminal responsibility is determined, punish the perpetrators of human rights violations, stems from the obligation to guarantee rights enshrined in Article 1(1) of the American Convention. This obligation implies the obligation of States Parties to organize their governmental apparatus, and in general, all of the structures in which public power is manifested, in a way that assures individuals the free and full exercise of their human rights.186 As a consequence of this obligation, the States must prevent, investigate, and punish all violations to the human rights enshrined in the Convention, and also, seek the reestablishment, if it is possible, of the violated right, and where applicable, the reparation of the harm produced given the violation of the human rights.187 If the State’s apparatus functions in a way that assures the matter remains with impunity, and 183 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez. Merits, supra note 25, para. 177; Case of Fernández Ortega et al., supra note 53, para. 191, and Case of Rosendo Cantú et al., supra note 45, para. 175. 184 Cf. Case of the Masacre of Pueblo Bello, supra note 139, para. 143; Case of Rosendo Cantú et al., supra note 45, para. 175, and Case of Ibsen Cárdenas and Ibsen Peña, supra note 24, para. 65. 185 Cf. as an example, the Code of Criminal Procedure in Brazil, Articles: Article 14. The victim or his legal representative, and the accused may request a procedure, to be held or not, according to the authority. Article 27. Any person of society can promote the initiative of Public Prosecution, in cases in which the public action corresponds, by providing, in writing, information on the facts and the responsibility and indicating the time, place, and the elements of evidence. Article 268. In all the terms of the Public Action, the offended person may act in the aid of the public prosecutor’s office, the victim or his legal representative or, where necessary, any person referred to in Article 31. 186 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez. Merits, supra note 25, para. 166; Case of González et al. (“Cotton field”), supra note 134, para. 236, and Case of the Dos Erres Massacre v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 24, 2009. Series C No. 211, para. 234. 187 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez. Merits, supra note 25, para. 166; Case of Ticona Estrada et al. v. Bolivia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 27, 2008. Series C No. 191, para. 78, and Case of Garibaldi, supra note 18, para. 112.