to avoid this risk. […] [I]n this case, it is not necessary to determine whether or not Claudina
was alive when the authorities became aware of the situation of risk and whether that situation
would have an impact on the possibility of finding her. What is necessary, is to determine
whether or not the authorities who were informed that Claudina was missing took the measures
within the scope of their powers that were or could be expected […in order] to avoid that risk.”
Moreover, it stressed that the State had had at least one hour to look for Claudina Velásquez
and, “[i]n any case, the determination of the exact time of [her] death […] is an aspect
regarding which the authorities incurred in delays and errors that mean that it is still not known
with certainty.”
102. The representatives argued that, in the context of the facts of the case, the abuses
perpetrated against Claudina Velásquez constituted, individually and collectively, violence
against women according to the American Convention and the Convention of Belém do Pará.
They indicated that the State had violated its obligation to avoid danger to Claudina Velásquez
and to ensure her rights to life, personal integrity, honor and dignity; first, before she went
missing by not implementing and executing effective policies and programs to prevent and
punish violence against women, including a lack of political will resulting in the failure to allocate
the necessary resources to address gender-based violence.169 Second, the State violated these
rights following the reports by her parents and before her body was found, because it was fully
aware of the dangerous situation in which she found herself owing to the pattern of violence
against women and the murder of women in Guatemala. Despite this, it twice refused to receive
those reports, requiring a delay of 24 hours to admit them. 170 They also argued that the body of
Claudina Velásquez was found with indications of violence and other ill-treatment. In addition,
they argued that “the rape of Claudina Isabel constituted, in itself, one of the most aggressive
interferences in her privacy as a woman. When she was sexually assaulted, her body was
invaded in the most arbitrary manner, affecting her most intimate sphere.”171 Furthermore, in
response to the State’s argument that, at most, it would have had one hour to find Claudina
Velásquez (infra para. 104), the representatives argued that “there is no doubt that, during this
hour, it would have been possible to save her” if, instead of rejecting the family’s report, they
had searched for the presumed victim. Consequently, they asked the Court to declare the
violation of Articles 4, 5 and 11 of the American Convention, together with non-compliance with
the obligations contained in Articles 1(1) and 2 of this instrument and Article 7 of the
Convention of Belém do Pará, to the detriment of Claudina Velásquez.172
103. Lastly, the representatives argued that, “to determine whether the State had a
reasonable possibility of preventing or avoiding the violation of her rights, the time that elapsed
between the moment that her parents reported that she was missing […] and the probable time
of her death – determined many months after her body had been found – was of no importance.
What was important […] is the information that the authorities had when the parents made their
report: that Claudina Isabel was missing and that there was an extremely high probability that
her life and integrity were threatened, given the context of femicide in Guatemala and, following
In this regard, in their final written arguments, they argued that, regarding the programs that the State said it
had adopted to combat femicide, only six measures were established before 2005, when the death of Claudina
Velásquez occurred. Added to this, those programs “achieved almost nothing,” because “[t]he Government did not
provide the necessary funding to enable them to fulfill their mandates.”
170
In their final written arguments, they alleged, for the first time, that the State authorities told the parents of
Claudina Velásquez that “she’s undoubtedly with her boyfriend,” and that these comments were a direct reflection of the
gender stereotypes held by State officials and reveal how they did not taken her disappearance seriously. These
arguments will not be considered as they were time-barred.
171
According the representatives, there are strong indications that Claudina Velásquez was a victim of sexual
violence, such as the position of the clothes on the corpse and the semen found in her body.
172
In their final written arguments, the representatives argued, for the first time, that the sexual violence of which
Claudina Velásquez was allegedly a victim, together with the fact that there was a high probability that she had been
transferred from one place to another while still alive, constituted cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that the
State failed to prevent. These arguments will not be considered as they were time-barred.
169
36