33 positive obligations to prevent and investigate violations of this right must be adopted “even in the sphere of relations between individuals, if necessary.” 173 146. The Court has also consistently held that “freedom of association can only be exercised in a situation in which fundamental human rights are fully guaranteed and respected, particularly those related to the life and safety of the individual.”174 In this regard, the Court has stated that “the impairment of the right to life or to humane treatment attributable to the State may, in turn, give rise to a violation of Article 16(1) of the Convention when such violation arises from the victim’s legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of association.”175 147. According to submissions offered by the petitioners not contested the State, Joe Luis Castillo González served as General Coordinator of the Social Action Office of the Apostolic Vicariate of Machiques and, in that capacity, worked in the area of humanitarian and legal assistance for Colombian citizens who entered Venezuela as refugees. He also worked in defense of the rights of members of campesino and indigenous communities in the State of Zulia. 176 148. The Inter-American Court has determined that in the exercise of the right to freedom of association, “the freedom to associate and to pursue certain collective goals are indivisible.” 177 In this connection, with regard to human rights defenders, the Commission has held, “Any act that tends to impede [...] in any way [...] the purposes for which they have formally associated, is a direct attack on the defense of human rights.”178 149. Joe Luis Castillo González belonged to an organization whose purpose is the protection of human rights and in which he engaged until a few months before his death in humanitarian and legal assistance activities for refugees and peasant communities.179 The Commission notes that at the time of the facts Joe Luis Castillo González was in the process of handing over his position. 180 150. The Commission has stated that activities in defense of human rights are intrinsic to the legitimate exercise of the rights protected by Article 16 of the American Convention and, therefore, the State 173 I/A Court H.R., Case of Kawas-Fernández v. Honduras. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 3, 2009, Series C No. 196, par. 144. Cf. I/A Court H.R., Case of Huilca Tecse v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of March 3, 2005, Series C No. 121, par. 76; and I/A Court H.R., Case of Cantoral-Huamaní and García-Santa Cruz v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 10, 2007. Series C, No. 167, par. 141. 174 I/A Court H.R., Case of Kawas-Fernández v. Honduras. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 3, 2009, Series C No. 196, par. 150. I/A Court H.R., Case of Huilca Tecse v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of March 3, 2005, Series C No. 121, par. 75, and I/A Court H.R., Case of Cantoral-Huamaní and García-Santa Cruz v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 10, 2007. Series C, No. 167, par. 146. 175 I/A Court H.R., Case of Kawas-Fernández v. Honduras. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of April 3, 2009, Series C No. 196, par. 150. Cf. I/A Court H.R., Case of Cantoral-Huamaní and García-Santa Cruz v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 10, 2007. Series C, No. 167, par. 147. 176 Office of the 20th Public Prosecutor for the Judicial District of the State of Zulia, Case 24-F20-817-2003, Office of the 83rd Public Prosecutor for the Judicial District of Metropolitan Caracas, interview with Yelitze Lisbeth Moreno Cova, September 10, 2003, pp. 101-106 and communication from the Community Education Center (CECODAP) to the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, September 3, 2003, pp. 121-122. Annex to the petitioners’ brief received at the IACHR on June 3, 2008. Not contested by the State. 177 I/A Court H.R., Case of Huilca Tecse v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of March 3, 2005, Series C No. 121, par. 70. 178 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.124. Doc. 5 rev.1, March 7, 2006, par. 76. Cf. IACHR, Report 31/96, Case 10.526, Guatemala, October 16, 1996, par. 119. In that same connection, see Report on Merits 49/99, Case 11.610, Loren Laroye Riebe Star, Jorge Barón Guttlein and Rodolfo Izal Elorz, Mexico, April 13, 1999. 179 Office of the 20th Public Prosecutor for the Judicial District of the State of Zulia, Case 24-F20-817-2003, Office of the 83rd Public Prosecutor for the Judicial District of Metropolitan Caracas, interview with Yelitze Lisbeth Moreno Cova, September 10, 2003, pp. 101-106 and communication from the Community Education Center (CECODAP) to the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, September 3, 2003, pp. 121-122. Annex to the petitioners’ brief received at the IACHR on June 3, 2008. Not contested by the State. 180 Petitioners’ briefs on merits received at the IACHR on July 13, 2007. Not contested by the State.