8
more supportive of the protection of human rights mainly as regards provisional
arrest, as well as judicial control procedures (appearance of the arrested person
before the competent judge within 36 hours) and the impossibility to hold him in
places other than the Immediate Reaction Units [Unidades de Reacción Inmediata,
URI] which depend on the General Prosecutor’s Office; ii) the enforcement of thirteen
guidelines since 2006, as well as of other documents for the internal dissemination
among public officials, which contain “[…] precise instructions to the members of the
armed and national police forces aimed at guaranteeing the transparency of
procedures regarding deprivation of liberty […];”8 iii) the implementation since 2006,
“[o]f a plan for the prevention of alleged violations of human rights and of the rules
of international humanitarian law[,] which implies preventive training actions and
academic investigation activities based on the analysis of decisions and judgments
[…];” iv) an “interlocutory process” among the National Police, non-government
organizations for the protection of human rights, trade unions, and social
organizations, and v) the delivery of the “[…] police procedural manual which
standardizes all activities, duties, searches, risks and preventive actions regarding
each procedure adopted by the national police […] and which establishes in a
detailed and precise manner [the] scope of action for those carrying them out.”
21.
That regarding the foregoing the representatives considered that “[…] the
information provided by the State so far does not allow concluding that […] it has
fully complied with this guarantee of non-repetition, taking into consideration […] the
8
Cf. Guideline No. 06 of April 6, 2006 issued by the National Defense Ministry (Instructions to
support investigations regarding the forced disappearance of persons and the execution of the urgent
search mechanism, as well as to prevent the crime of forced disappearance of persons), which contains
directions, inter alia, to secure that there is a record of the persons apprehended and arrested always
available for the public and that the necessary measures are taken to prevent it from being altered;
Guideline No. 10 of June 6, 2007 issued by the National Defense Ministry (Reiteration of obligations for
authorities tasked with enforcing the law and preventing the homicide of protected persons), which sets
forth, inter alia, that arrested persons must be brought before the competent authorities within the legal
terms and that the immediate access of ICRC delegates must be allowed to the places where arrested
persons are held so that their situation may be verified; Official Letter No. 30317 of February 2, 2007
(Right to liberty and personal safety, deprivation of liberty and treatment of apprehended persons) issued
by the Armed Forces Joint General Staff, which clarifies essential concepts related to the right to personal
liberty and the only circumstances in which said right may be restricted, among others; Permanent
Guideline issued by the Armed Forces General Command No. 6052 of July 24, 2007, which sends the
instructions contained in Guideline 10 of 2007 to all military units; Circular Letter No. 2190 of February
25, 2008, issued by the Armed Forces General Command, whereby instructions are given to the Military
Forces to comply with the Agreement reached by the National Government and the ICRC; Official Letter
No. 3567 of March 14, 2008, issued by the Armed Forces General Command, whereby instructions are
given to the Military Forces to comply with Circular Letter No. 2190; Set of Instructions 007 of February
13, 2006, issued by the National Police General Director and addressed to the Police for the adaptation
and improvement of places for detained persons; Set of Instructions 096 of September 21, 2006, issued
by the National Police General Director and addressed to the Police, listing a number of actions aimed at
preventing the violation of the rights of detained or arrested persons; Set of Instructions 018 of July 26,
2007, issued by the National Police Operative Director, which reiterates instructions to the Police aimed at
preventing the violation of the rights of apprehended persons; Set of Instructions 006 of January 21,
2008, issued by the National Police General Director, which provides for compliance with instructions
aimed at apprehending persons in a limited and proper manner; Set of Instructions 009 of January 30,
2008, issued by the National Police General Director, whereby Set of Instructions 006 of 2008 is amended
and updated; Set of Instructions 040 of June 20, 2008, issued by the National Police General Director,
whereby the scope and circumstances under which intoxicated persons may be provisionally arrested are
reiterated; Set of Instructions 045 of June 27, 2008, issued by the National Police General Director, which
sets forth further protection measures regarding provisional arrest; and the National Police Manual of
Procedures for the Control of Crimes and Misdemeanors, which sets forth the activities, duties, searches,
risks and preventive actions to be taken in relation to each procedure adopted by the police in the case of
deprivation of liberty.