5
upon the State to comply effectively with the remaining elements of the judgment
and to forward a detailed report on the measures adopted in that respect.
9.
The note of the Secretariat of December 13, 2002, in which, on the
instructions of the whole Court, it requested the State to provide a report on
compliance with judgment before June 16, 2003, and the note of the Secretariat of
August 12, 2003, in which it reiterated to the State that it should present this report,
granting it until September 5, 2003, to do so.
10.
The report of the State of September 11, 2003, in which it advised that “in
compliance with the decisions in the judgment on reparations, the State of
Guatemala had paid compensation amounting to US$470,214.00 in favor of the next
of kin [of the victims] and also reimbursed US$38,651.91 for costs and expenses to
[the representatives of the victims’ next of kin]; that Government officials had taken
“the pertinent steps for the transfer and subsequent interment of the mortal remains
of Henry Giovanni Contreras; however, owing to the time that had elapsed from the
moment of his death until the request for interment, his remains had been deposited
in a common grave, so that, following agreement between the victim’s mother and
State officials, and in view of the material impossibility of determining which were
the remains of the victim, a private act honoring his memory [had been conducted,
where] a commemorative plaque [had been unveiled]”; that, on July 26, 2002, a
plaque commemorating the street children who were the victims in this case had
been unveiled; and that on February 26, 1997, the Second Court of First Instance for
Crimes, Drug-trafficking and Crimes against the Environment had declared the
abatement of the criminal action owing to the death of the accused, Rafael Santiago
Gómez; consequently, it had declared a stay of proceedings against him and left
open the criminal action against the person found to be responsible.
11.
The notes of the Secretariat of September 16, 2003, in which, on the
instructions of the President of the Court, it requested the Commission and the
representatives to submit their comments on the State’s report.
12.
The comments of the Commission of November 14, 2003, indicating that the
last report presented by the State did not contain detailed information on the
measures adopted in order to comply with the judgment on reparations delivered by
the Court on May 26, 2001, and did not provide any information on the elements
pending compliance. The Commission indicated that, with regard to the first to
fourth operative paragraphs of the said judgment relating to the payment of
compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, only the payments in favor
of Gerardo Adoriman Villagrán Morales and Osman Ravid Agreda Contreras were
pending. As for the State’s obligation to adopt, in accordance with Article 2 of the
American Convention, the necessary legislative, administrative or any other
measures in its domestic legislation to adapt Guatemalan legislation to Article 19 of
the Convention, the Commission reported that “following an important effort by civil
society during many years, on June 4, 2003, Guatemala adopted the Integral
Protection of Children and Adolescents Act by Decree 27-03, registered under
number 2,767, which protects the rights of childhood in a way that is more in
keeping with the terms of Article 19 than the legislation previously in force, [... the
said] Code entered into force on July 19, 2003.” In that respect, the Commission
indicated that the legislation in itself represented progress, but that “its real
usefulness could only be measured following its proper enforcement by the State, so
as to provide concrete improvements in the situation of Guatemalan children.”
Regarding the sixth operative paragraph, on the State’s obligation to provide the