to rest on or adequate hygiene conditions, in isolation and incommunicado or with undue
restrictions to the system of visits, constitutes a violation of the right to humane treatment. 220
193. Also, while Article 5(1) of the Convention establishes in general terms the right to personal
integrity –physical as well as psychological and moral–, Article 5(2) establishes more specifically
the absolute prohibition of subjecting anyone to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment. The Court has pointed out that the violation of a person’s right to physical and
psychological integrity has different connotations of degree, and that it ranges from torture to
other types of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or abuse, whose physical and mental
consequences vary in intensity according to endogenous and exogenous factors of the person
(duration of the treatment, age, sex, health, context, vulnerability, among others) that must be
analyzed in each specific situation. The Court also recalls that the absolute prohibition of torture,
both physical and psychological, is now part of international jus cogens. 221
194. Since Article 5(2) of the American Convention does not specify what should be understood
as “torture,” the Court has had recourse to Article 2 of the IACPPT, as well as to other definitions
contained in international instruments that prohibit torture, to arrive at the elements that
constitute torture. Based on these instruments, it has determined that torture is present when the
ill-treatment: a) is intentional; b) causes severe physical or mental suffering, and c) is committed
with any objective or purpose. 222
195. The Court has also reiterated that, in accordance with the American Convention, the States
Parties must provide effective judicial remedies to the victims of human rights violations (Article
25), remedies that must be substantiated in accordance with the rules of due process of law
(Article 8(1)), all within the general obligation of the States to guarantee the free and full exercise
of the rights recognized by the Convention to all persons under their jurisdiction (Article 1(1)). 223
196. The Court has clarified that there is access to justice when the State guarantees, within a
reasonable time, the right of the alleged victims or their next of kin to have all the measures
carried out to learn the truth of what happened and, if appropriate, to punish those possibly
responsible. 224 In this regard, the Court recalls that Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention also
establish the right to obtain a response to the claims and petitions submitted to the judicial
authorities, since the effectiveness of the remedy implies a positive obligation to provide a
response within a reasonable period of time. 225
Cf. Case of Tibi v. Ecuador, supra, para. 150; Case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison v. Peru. Merits, reparations
and costs. Judgment of November 25, 2006. Series C No. 160, para. 315: Case of Hernández v. Argentina. Preliminary
objection, merits, reparations and cost. Judgment of November 22, 2019. Series C No. 395, para. 60, and Case of Dial et
al. v. Trinidad and Tobago, supra, para. 73.
220
221
Cf. Case of Maritza Urrutia v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 27, 2003. Series
C No. 103, para. 92; Case of Bedoya v. Colombia. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of August 26, 2021. Series C
No. 431, para. 100, and Case of Dial et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago, supra, para. 63.
Cf. Case of Bueno Alves v. Argentina. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of May 11, 2007. Series C No. 164,
para. 79, and Case of Bedoya v. Colombia, supra, para. 101.
222
223
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Preliminary objections, supra, para. 91; Case of Digna Ochoa and
Family Members v. Mexico. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 25, 2021. Series
C No. 447, para. 98, and Case of Aroca Palma et al. v. Ecuador, supra, para. 103.
224
Cf. Case of Bulacio v. Argentina. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of September 18, 2003. Series C No.
100, para. 114, Case of the Workers of the Fireworks Factory in Santo Antônio de Jesus and their Families v. Brazil.
Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of July 15, 2020. Series C No. 407, para. 217, and Case
of Sales Pimenta v. Brazil. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of June 30, 2022. Series C No.
454, para. 83.
225
Cf. Case of Cantos v. Argentina. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 28, 2002. Series C No. 97,
para. 57; Case of the Workers of the Fireworks Factory in Santo Antônio de Jesus and their Families v. Brazil. Preliminary
objections, merits, reparations and costs, supra, para. 218, and Case of Sales Pimenta v. Brazil, supra, para. 83.
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