26 2001, were gender-based murders. These assertions are based on the information described below. 74. In Guatemala, homicidal violence increased by 120% between 1999 and 2006, at an average rate that amply exceeded population growth. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this increase in murders resulted in “position[ing] Guatemala [in 2006] as one of the most violence countries in the world that were officially at peace.”71 The greatest proportional increase of this violence between 1986 and 2006 was concentrated in the country’s largest urban centers.72 75. In this context, according to the Guatemalan Judiciary, “official figures” revealed a “sustained increase of violent deaths of women throughout the country level from 2001 to 2011.”73 Similar information was presented by the National Institute of Statistics (infra para. 76), and reports of international agencies reveal a sustained increase in cases of the violent death of women as of 2000.74 76. The Inter-American Commission affirmed that “State authorities confirmed that, since 2001 [to 2004], 1,188 women have been murdered. [… and that] several sources stated that […] there has also been an increase in the degree of violence and cruelty displayed against the bodies of many of the victims.”75 According to data from the National Institute of Statistics consulted by the MESECVI, the evolution of the number of murders of women in the country was as follows: 1995: 150; 1996: 163; 1997: 249; 1998: 190; 1999: 179; 2000: 213; 2001: 215; 2002: 266; 2003: 282; 2004: 286.76 71 Cf. The United Nations Development Programme stated, indicating that it did so based on data of the National Civil Police, that “the homicidal violence [in Guatemala] has increased more than 120%, from 2,655 murders in 1999 to 5,885 in 2006. This upsurge equals an increase of more than 12% a year since 1999, amply exceeding the growth of the population which is less than 2.6% a year.” United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Armed Violence Prevention programme of UNDP Guatemala, “Informe estadístico de la violencia en Guatemala” [Statistical report on violence in Guatemala], supra, p. 9. It should also be recalled that the State acknowledged that, in 2001, there was an “increase in […] violent deaths” and “fear among […] Guatemalan society” (supra para. 18). 72 Cf. Conflict Analysis Resource Center (CERAC), “Guatemala en la encrucijada. Panorama de una violencia transformada” [Guatemala at the Crossroads: An Overview of Violence Transformed], Geneva, 2011 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, annex 57, fs. 7480 to 77007). 73 This document indicates that “according to a report,” in 2012, “Guatemala occupied the third place at the global level for violent deaths of women, with a rate of 9.7 femicides for every 100,000 inhabitants.” Judiciary of Guatemala, “Primer Informe sobre Juzgados and Tribunales Penales de Delitos de Femicidio y otras Formas de Violencia Contra la Mujer” [First report on criminal courts for crimes of femicide and other forms of violence against women], 2012 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, annex 101, fs. 10854 to 10917). 74 Cf. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), “Si no se cuenta, no cuenta. Información sobre la violence contra las mujeres,” Santiago de Chile, Chile, 2012, p. 246 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, annex 59, fs. 7815 to 8210), United Nations Economic and Social Council. Commission on Human Rights, sixty first session, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk. Mission to Guatemala. UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/72/Add.3, 10 February 2005, para. 28 (file of attachments to the Merits Report, annex 31, fs. 240 to 264). It should be underscored that, within the framework of the situation described, between 2000 and 2002, there was an increase in the reports of acts of violence perpetrated against women that were dealt with by the Public Prosecution Service: according to documentation of the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, data from State sources indicate that while there were 130,561 complaints in 2000, 222,436 complaints were recorded in 2001, and 238,936 in 2002; in other words, between 2000 and 2002, this type of complaint increased by 83%. Cf. Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Pre-session working group. Thirty-fifth session, 15 May to 2 June 2006. Responses to the list of issues and questions for consideration of the sixth periodic report. Guatemala. UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GUA/Q/6/Add.1, 27 March 2006 (file of attachments to the Merits Report, annex 28, fs. 151 to 202). The document indicates that the source of the data is the Guatemala Presidential Human Rights Commission (COPREDEH) (file of attachments to the Merits Report, annex 28, fs. 161 to 202). 75 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Press Communiqué 20/04, “The IACHR Special Rapporteur evaluates the effectiveness of the right of women in Guatemala to live free from violence and discrimination,” September 18, 2004, para. 7 (file of attachments to the Merits Report, annex 32, fs. 266 to 310). 76 Follow-up Mechanism on the Convention of Belém do Pará (MESECVI). Second Conference of States parties, supra, p. 74.