6 [i]n cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court shall adopt such provisional measures as it deems pertinent in matters it has under consideration. With respect to a case not yet submitted to the Court, it may act at the request of the Commission. 3. With respect to this matter, Article 25(1) and 25(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court sets forth that, [a]t any stage of the proceedings involving cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court may, at the request of a party or on its own motion, order such provisional measures as it deems pertinent, pursuant to Article 63(2) of the Convention. [w]ith respect to matters not yet submitted to it, the Court may act at the request of the Commission. […] 4. Article 1(1) of the Convention states the obligation of the States Parties to respect the rights and freedoms recognized in that treaty and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms. 5. In International Human Rights Law, in addition to their essentially preventive or precautionary purpose, urgent and provisional measures are protective because they effectively protect fundamental rights, inasmuch as they seek to avoid irreparable damage to persons. Thus, provisional measures become a true preventive judicial guarantee.1 6. It is a responsibility of the State to adopt security measures to protect all persons under its jurisdiction, and this duty is even more evident in connection with persons involved in proceedings before the bodies that oversee protection under the American Convention. 7. The precautionary measures adopted by the Inter-American Commission with the aim of protecting the lives, safety, and freedom of expression of journalists, cameramen, management, and photographers, as well as to provide protection of the facilities of Globovisión, have not had the desired effects and, instead, the facts that took place thereafter make it reasonable to presume that the journalists, management and employees of Globovisión, as well as other persons who are in the facilities of the Globovisión broadcasting firm or who are associated with the journalistic operation of that broadcaster, are at grave risk. 8. Freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 13 of the Convention, is a cornerstone of the very existence of a democratic society and is indispensable for the development of public opinion. It is also a conditio sine qua non for the political parties, the labor unions, scientific and cultural societies, and in general those who want to influence collective life, to fully develop. It is, ultimately, a condition for the 1 See Case of the Urso Branco Prison. Provisional Measures. July 7, 2004 Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights, Whereas four; Matters of: Liliana Ortega et al., Luisiana Ríos et al., Luis Uzcátegui, Marta Colomina and Liliana Velásquez. Provisional Measures. May 4, 2004 Order of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights, Whereas five; and Case of the Urso Branco Prison. Provisional Measures. April 22, 2004 Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Whereas four.