REPORT Nº 45/05 PETITION 712/04 ADMISSIBILITY RENATO TICONA ESTRADA ET AL BOLIVIA October 12, 2005 I. SUMMARY 1. On August 9, 2004, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or “the IACHR”) received a petition lodged by the Ombudsman of Bolivia (hereinafter “the petitioner”) against the Republic of Bolivia (hereinafter “the State”) alleging the violation of the human rights of the following Bolivian citizens: Renato Ticona Estrada (with respect to Articles 1(1), 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights-hereinafter “the American Convention”) and Article III of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons; and, César Ticona Olivares, Honoria Estrada de Ticona, Hugo Ticona Estrada and Rodo Ticona Estrada and Betzy Ticona Estrada direct family of Renato Ticona Estrada, for the alleged violation of Articles 5, 8, and 25 of the American Convention, for events which occurred in Bolivia on July 22, 1980. 2. In its response, the State requested that the petition be declared inadmissible due to failure to exhaust domestic remedies. 3. After examining the petition, and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention and with Articles 30 and 37 and other consistent provisions of its Rules of Procedure, the Commission decided to declare the petition admissible with regard to the alleged violations of Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, and 25, and 1(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention”) and Articles I, III, IV and XI of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons. Consequently, the Commission decided to notify the parties and to publish this report on admissibility and include it in its Annual Report. II. PROCEDURES OF THE COMMISSION 4. On August 9, 2004, the IACHR received the petition lodged by the Ombudsman of Bolivia against the Republic of Bolivia, to the detriment of the alleged victims listed in paragraph 1 of this report. On November 30, 2004, the IACHR began to process the petition; it registered it as number 712/04, and transmitted the pertinent parts to the State, granting it a period of two months to submit its observations. 5. On February 9, 2005, the State requested the Commission to extend the period; on March 31, 2005, an extension for an additional 30 days was granted. 6. On February 9, March 18, and May 10, 2005, the Commission received communications from the petitioner requesting the admissibility of the case and objecting to the procedural delay of the State in submitting its observations, in accordance with the periods established in the IACHR Rules of Procedure. The first two communications were forwarded to the State on March 31, and the last one was sent to it on June 13, 2005. 7. On June 23, 2005, the IACHR received observations from the Bolivian State, and on June 28, 2005 they were transmitted to the petitioner, who was given a period of one month to submit observations. 8. On July 29, 2005, the Commission received the petitioner’s observations on the State’s response. In that communication, the petitioner requested that the following victims of violations of Articles 5, 8, and 25 of the American Convention be added: Rodo Ticona Estrada and Betzy Ticona Estrada, the brother and sister of Renato Ticona Estrada. On August 1, 2005, 1