35
159.
Finally, the Commission would like to address the argument of the state regarding the
permissibility of summary determinations on manifestly unfounded applications, as well as the state’s
observations to the effect that the Pacheco Tineo family abused the institution of asylum.
160.
Regarding the first point, the Commission finds that, under the American Convention, any
proceeding for the determination of rights must include the guarantees of due process. Although states
have the authority to order different proceedings to evaluate applications that are “manifestly unfounded,”
that authority cannot render void the minimum guarantees of due process. In the instant case, the
Commission considers that this argument is not admissible since, to begin with, it is a defense advanced
to the IACHR and not a determination that the CONARE actually made in making its decision. The
CONARE did not provide grounds to the effect that application was "manifestly unfounded" or state the
reasons for reaching such a conclusion. In second place, the summary manner in which the CONARE
acted by adopting a decision in an unreasonably short time and without offering the possibility of
submitting any arguments, evidence, or defense, renders the most basic due process guarantees void. In
third place, as the Commission has already mentioned, a voluntary repatriation in the past cannot
constitute an impediment to exercise the right enshrined in article 22(7) of the American Convention.
Finally, although the recognition of protection in a third country could justify the denial of an asylum claim,
petitioners in this case did not have an opportunity to explain their situation in Chile. The situation was
not considered either by the CONARE in its summary determination.
161.
Consequently, by summarily rejecting this application, without affording any due process
guarantee in the terms described above, the state, through the CONARE, not only acted in violation of the
guarantees of due process and the right to seek and be granted asylum, it also infringed the procedural
obligations imposed by the principle of non-return by denying protection—resulting in the expulsion—
without making a serious and adequate determination of the potential risk faced by the family in their
country of origin.
162.
Based on the foregoing, the Commission concludes that the state violated the rights to a
fair trial, to seek and be granted asylum, the principle of non-return and the right to judicial protection
recognized in articles 8(1), 8(2), 22(7), 22(8), and 25 of the American Convention, taken in conjunction
with article 1(1) of that instrument, to the detriment of Rumaldo Juan Pacheco Osco; Fredesvinda Tineo
Godos; and Frida Edith, Juana Guadalupe, and Juan Ricardo Pacheco Tineo.
1.
The right to humane treatment of the Pacheco Tineo family (article 5 of the
American Convention)
163.
Where it pertains to the instant case, Article 5 of the American Convention provides:
1.
Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity respected.
164.
Since the initial petition was lodged, the petitioners have claimed a series of violations to
their personal integrity, including acts of verbal violence by a SENAMIG official as well as physical and
verbal abuse during the journey from La Paz to the border zone of El Desaguadero on February 24, 2001.
These facts were refuted by the state, which said that the Pacheco Tineo family were humanely treated
by its authorities.
165.
As mentioned in the Established Facts section, the Commission has no official
information that would allow it to make factual determinations regarding the circumstances as to the time,
manner, and location of the transfer of the Pacheco Tineo family with a view to their expulsion. There is
no official document whatever that records the details of how the family’s transfer and expulsion
proceeded. For their part, the petitioners provided no additional information to support the allegations of
mistreatment, such as, for instance, the filing of a complaint.
166.
In these circumstances, the Commission considers that it does not have sufficient
information to conclude that the state violated the right to humane treatment of the members of the