providing accessible and detailed information to the victims’ next of kin regarding the
procedure and what they can expect.” They also appreciated greatly the Foundation’s
commitment, and urged the State to “guarantee all the necessary conditions to allow
the Foundation to continue its work.”
21.
In this regard, the Commission appreciated the measures adopted to comply
with the obligation to identify and return the remains to the next of kin of the victims.
It indicated that “it awaits further information from the State on the actions aimed at
overcoming the reported difficulties and on the progress made with the rest of the
procedure,” and that the State should continue “providing the necessary resources to
allow the work to be performed so that the identification and return of the remains is
carried out within the time frame granted by the Court.”
22.
The Court assesses positively the efforts made by the State to comply with this
measure. The representatives and the Commission both agree in appreciating the
steps taken by the State and the technical and professional work performed by the
Foundation in the exhumation of the bodies. At the same time, the Court takes into
account the State’s comments on the difficulties encountered to compare the DNA
samples extracted from the victims’ next of kin with the remains, because these were
not classified individually and were in poor condition, and that, consequently, there is
a risk that it may not be possible to extract DNA samples.
23.
In addition, the Court recalls the provisions of paragraph 249 of the judgment,
which stated that “to make the individualization of the those exhumed viable and
effective, the State must advise the representatives of the victims in writing of the
procedure for the identification and return of the remains of those killed during the
massacre and, if necessary, request their collaboration for the pertinent effects.”
Therefore, the Court finds that, as indicated in the judgment, the State must continue
reporting on the measures implemented to identify those exhumed and the results, in
order to comply with the eleventh operative paragraph of the judgment.
D) Obligation to implement training courses on human rights for different
State authorities (twelfth operative paragraph of the judgment)
24.
In its report of December 21, 2010, the State indicated that “through the
Training Unit of the Public Prosecution Service, and with the support of COPREDEH, it
had prepared a project to offer the course ‘Application of national and international
human rights law in proceedings for grave violations in Guatemala,’ which seeks to
train public prosecutors and assistant prosecutors of the Public Prosecution Service.” It
specified that the course is intended to be offered in four modules “covering concepts,
classification, human rights institutions, and specific cases of the Inter-Commission on
Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.” It also indicated that,
owing to the lack of funds it has not been possible to open the course immediately;
therefore, “the Public Prosecution Service is currently seeking the necessary financial
resources to implement the course.” Lastly, the State indicated that the Ministry of
National Defense “has advised that human rights issues are included at all levels of
academic training (mid-level, university, and specializations).”
In their observations, the representatives indicated that “regarding training for
25.
the Armed Forces, the State merely indicated that, according to information from the
Ministry of Defense, human rights topics are included at all levels of training, […]
without providing specific details that would allow the purpose, content and impact to
be evaluated.” Similarly, they added that “despite the State’s obligation to “enhance”
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