D) Obligation to reach agreement with the next of kin of Rainer Ibsen Cárdenas
and José Luis Ibsen Peña on the designation of a public place with their names, in
which a plaque must be placed which refers to the Judgment, the facts of the case
and the circumstances in which they occurred (eleventh operative paragraph of
the Judgment)
22.
The State advised that the Autonomous Municipal Government of La Paz had
promulgated Municipal Ordinance GAMLP No. 078/2011, naming the “Avenida José Luis
Ibsen Peña y Rainer Ibsen Cárdenas,” and that Tito Ibsen had accepted this designation on
behalf of his family in a note dated November 4, 2010, addressed to the Head of Cultural
Affairs of the Municipal Government of La Paz, Walter Gómez Méndez. According to the
information provided by the State, the public act held on August 2, 2011, during which the
commemorative plaque was unveiled,22 was “duly coordinated” with the representatives
and was attended by the President of the Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos
Desaparecidos (ASOFAMD), the Head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, the Mayor of La Paz, the Vice Minister for Justice and Fundamental
Rights, a representative of the Vice Minister for Institutional and Consular Affairs of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Tito Ibsen on behalf of the victims’ family.
23.
In their brief of November 14, 2011, the representatives indicated that the Municipal
Government had issued Municipal Ordinance GAMLP No. 078/2011” naming the avenue
“located between Costanera and Alamos avenues and Benito Juárez street, circumscribing
Block 9 of the La Florida zone.” They also indicated that Martha Castro Mendoza and
Rebeca, Raquel and Tito, all with the last name Ibsen Castro, attended the public act held
on August 2, 2011, in order to name the said avenue. In addition, in the same brief, they
indicated that “the State had complied strictly and diligently” with this aspect of the
Judgment. However, in their brief of March 13, 2013, the representatives pointed out that
“even though it is true that, in one way or another, the [eleventh operative paragraph of the
Judgment] had been complied with; nevertheless, the provisions of paragraph 249 [of the
Judgment establishing that, in a public place agreed on with the representatives …] a plaque
should be placed that referred to the Judgment, the facts of the case, and the
circumstances in which they occurred […],” had not been complied with in any way within
the one-year time frame.
24.
The Commission “assessed positively the efforts made by the State to comply with
this measure of reparation.” However, it indicated that “the text included on the plaque by
the State refers to Mr. Ibsen Peña as ‘murdered’ and not as ‘forcibly disappeared,” even
though, to date, his fate and whereabouts have not been established.” Also, it “consider[ed]
that the reference to ‘the circumstances in which the facts occurred’ might be somewhat
incomplete.” Consequently, the Commission “consider[ed] it essential to know the opinion of
the representatives of the victims” before finding that this aspect had been complied with,
bearing in mind its importance for the historical memory. In particular, the Commission
indicated that “it would be relevant to have further information as to whether the text of the
plaque had been decided on with the family.”
25.
The Court observes that, in its Judgment, it assessed positively that the State had
organized a public act of reparation, during which it officially named a traffic circle “Familia
22
The plaque contains the following text: “Avenida José Luis Ibsen Peña y Rainer Ibsen Cárdenas, Padre e
Hijo, Asesinados durante la dictadura militar de los años 1971 a 1978. En virtud a la Sentencia de la Corte
Interamericana de Derechos Humanos emitida el 1 de septiembre de 2010 ‘La Desaparición Forzada Es Un Delito’
La Florida” [José Luis Ibsen Peña and Rainer Ibsen Cárdenas Avenue, father and son, murdered during the military
dictatorship from 1971 to 1978. Based on the judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights delivered on
September 1, 2010, ‘Forced disappearance is a crime,’ La Florida].
9