287. This Court is aware that determining the truth of what happened requires undertaking
efforts that, as Argentina has suggested when pointing out the frustrated attempts to request
the extradition of possible perpetrators, exceed the capabilities of a national justice system to
accomplish on its own. Given this, the Court recalls that States have international obligations
to eradicate impunity for serious human rights violations, including a duty of inter-State
cooperation, 304 meaning they must cooperate in areas like extradition and reciprocal judicial
assistance 305 (supra para. 121).
288. Consistent with the requests made, the Court orders that the Argentine State, within
one year from the notification of this Judgment and through the channels it deems appropriate,
take the pertinent steps to call together the other States involved in the perpetration of the
facts of the case—the Eastern Republic of Uruguay and the Republic of Chile—and, in general,
in the context of Operation Condor—that is, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Plurinational
State of Bolivia, the Republic of Paraguay and the Republic of Peru 306—to form a working group
that will coordinate possible efforts to carry out the tasks necessary to investigate, extradite,
prosecute, and, where appropriate, punish those responsible for serious crimes committed
within the framework of the aforementioned inter-State criminal plan. This coordination must
take the form of a work plan shared among the competent authorities, depending on the
matter in question, carried out in compliance with the applicable national and international
legal frameworks and with support from international cooperation and mutual aid
mechanisms. The different State authorities will thus have to undertake joint efforts to clarify
what happened during Operation Condor as the context in which systematic human rights
violations were perpetrated, including the violations that harmed the victims in the present
case. The Court will monitor the process of convening the formation of the working group.
289. Although, in accordance with the law governing the international proceeding, this does
not mean ordering measures be taken by States that are not a party to this case, the Court
deems it necessary to note that their involvement is essential to clarifying what happened,
and ultimately, ensuring that these grave human rights violations not remain in impunity. It
therefore recalls that, under the collective guarantee mechanism established in the American
Convention (supra paras. 120 and 121), together with the international obligations on the
matter—both regional 307 and universal 308—States must cooperate with each other to carry out
Cf. Case of La Cantuta v. Peru, supra, par. 160, and Case of Herzog et al. v. Brazil, supra, par. 298.
Cf. Case of Herzog et al. v. Brazil, supra, par. 298.
306
Cf. Case of Goiburú et al. v. Paraguay, supra pars. 61(5), 61(6), and 72, and Case of Gelman v. Uruguay,
supra, par. 44.
307
Cf. Inter alia, Charter of the Organization of American States, Preamble and Article 3, subparagraph e); InterAmerican Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, Articles 11 through 14; Inter-American Convention on Forced
Disappearance of Persons, Articles I(c), IV, V, VI, and XII; and Resolution No. 1/03 of the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights on the prosecution of international crimes, dated October 24, 2003.
308
Cf. Inter alia, Charter of the United Nations, Preamble and Article 1.3; Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
resolution 217 A (III) of the General Assembly of December 10, 1948; International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, resolution 2200A (XXI) of the General Assembly of December 16, 1966; Geneva Conventions of August 12,
1949 and their Protocols; Convention on the non-applicability of statutory limitations to war crimes and crimes against
humanity, resolution 2391 (XXIII) of the General Assembly of November 26, 1968; Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, resolution 260 A (III) of the General Assembly of December 9, 1948;
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Punishment, resolution 39/46 of the General
Assembly of December 10, 1984; International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance, adopted by the General Assembly on December 20, 2006; Declaration on the Protection of all Persons
from Enforced Disappearance, resolution 47/133 of the General Assembly of December 18, 1992, Articles 2 and 14;
United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary
Executions, Economic and Social Council, resolution 1989/65, May 24, 1989; United Nations Principles of international
co-operation in the detection, arrest, extradition and punishment of persons guilty of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, resolution 3074 (XXVIII) of the General Assembly of December 3, 1973; Resolution on the Question of the
punishment of war criminals and of persons who have committed crimes against humanity, resolution 2840 (XXVI)
of the General Assembly of December 18, 1971; Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind of
the International Law Commission of 1996; Declaration on Territorial Asylum, resolution 2312 (XXII) of the General
Assembly of December 14, 1967; United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted on July 28,
304
305
72