11
and the effective exercise of the right (with the faithful observance of the judicial
guarantees) are inevitably linked. And, the Court added in that case:
"(...) In the case under discussion it has been proven that the death of Juan
Humberto Sánchez was set within the framework of a pattern of extra-legal executions
(...), one characteristic of which is that there has also been a situation of impunity (...), in
which judicial remedies are not effective, the judicial investigations have serious
shortcomings, and the passing of time plays a fundamental role in erasing all traces of the
crime, thus making the right to defense and judicial protection an illusion, as regards the
terms set forth in Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention." (para. 135)
30.
Likewise, in the case of Durand and Ugarte versus Peru (Judgment of 08.16.
2000), the Court maintained present the argument of the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (ICHR) in the sense that “the military exclusive court does not offer
the minimal guarantees of independence and impartiality as stipulated in Article 8(1)
of the Convention. Thus, it does not constitute an effective recourse to protect the
victims and relatives' rights and to repair damages violating also Article 25." (para.
120) Thus, when determining the joint violation of Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the
Convention, the Court concluded, on this matter, in the case of Durand y Ugarte:
"As a consequence, Article 8(1) of the American Convention, in connection with
Article 25(1) thereof, confers to victims’ relatives the right to investigate their
disappearance and death by State authorities, to carry out a process against the liable
parties of unlawful acts, to impose the corresponding sanctions, and to compensate
damages suffered by their relatives. None of these rights were guaranteed in the present
case to the next of kin of Messrs. Durand Ugarte and Ugarte Rivera." (para. 130)
VI.
The Inseparability between Articles 25 and 8 of the
American Convention as an Intangible Jurisprudential Advance.
31.
However, we must not assume a lineal, constant, and inevitable progress in the
international jurisprudence in this regard, since the institutions are only the people
behind them, and they oscillate, just like the clouds and the waves, as is normal of the
human condition. Today I can clearly verify that working in the international protection
of human rights is like the myth of Sisyphus, an endless task. It is like constantly
pushing a rock towards the peak of a mountain, where it falls back down again and is
pushed up again. The task of protection is developed between advances and retreats.
32.
When going down the mountain to push the rock once again toward the peak,
one becomes aware of the human condition, and of the tragedy that surrounds it, but
one must continue fighting: in reality, there is no other choice:
"Sisyphe, revenant vers son rocher, contemple cette suite d'actions sans lien qui
devient son destin, créé par lui, uni sous le regard de sa mémoire et bientôt scellé par sa
mort. (...) Sisyphe enseigne la fidélité supérieure qui (...) soulève les rochers. (...) La lutte
elle-même vers les sommets suffit à remplir un coeur d'homme. Il faut imaginer Sisyphe
heureux."24
24
A. Camus, Le mythe de Sisyphe, Paris, Gallimard, 1942, p. 168.