- 51 the provisions of the American Convention291 and the international legal obligations that the State of Honduras assumed when it became a part to that treaty and to the OAS Charter; obligations expressly stated in instruments such as the Inter-American Democratic Charter. 154. Thus, the said instrument establishes that: Article 6 It is the right and responsibility of all citizens to participate in decisions relating to their own development. This is also a necessary condition for the full and effective exercise of democracy. Promoting and fostering diverse forms of participation strengthens democracy. Article 7 Democracy is indispensable for the effective exercise of fundamental freedoms and human rights in their universality, indivisibility and interdependence, embodied in the respective constitutions of states and in inter-American and international human rights instruments. Article 8 Any person or group of persons who consider that their human rights have been violated may present claims or petitions to the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with its established procedures. Member states reaffirm their intention to strengthen the inter-American system for the protection of human rights for the consolidation of democracy in the Hemisphere. 155. The Court notes that, given this context, the facts of this case evidently infringed a series of rights of the presumed victims. In the following chapters, the Court will examine the specific violations suffered by the presumed victims, owing to the institution of disciplinary proceedings against them for their actions in defense of democracy and the rule of law. VII-1 POLITICAL RIGHTS, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, THE RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION, IN RELATION TO THE OBLIGATION TO RESPECT AND ENSURE RIGHTS AND THE OBLIGATION TO ADOPT DOMESTIC LEGAL PROVISIONS 156. Taking into account the arguments of the parties and the Commission, in this chapter the Court will analyze, together, the alleged violations of political rights,292 the right to freedom of Human Rights stipulates that: “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. […] The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.” 291 The preamble to the Convention establishes as one of its purposes “to consolidate in this hemisphere, within the framework of democratic institutions, a system of personal liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man.” Furthermore, 29 of the Convention stipulates that: “No provision of this Convention shall be interpreted as: […] (c) precluding other rights or guarantees that are inherent in the human personality or derived from representative democracy as a form of government.” 292 The relevant part of Article 23 of the Convention establishes that: “1. Every citizen shall enjoy the following rights and opportunities: (a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; […] 2. The law may regulate the exercise of the rights and opportunities referred to in the preceding paragraph only on the basis of age, nationality, residence, language, education, civil and mental capacity, or sentencing by a competent court in criminal proceedings.”