However, the case law of the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights treats it as a right that falls under the right to due process.
When analyzed as part of the due process, "it acquires relevance
for the building of a civilized society", which is why “recognizing
this right requires that it be considered not only as a part of the
due process, but also as an autonomous fundamental right, also
classified as among social rights, making its recognition a necessity
in modern political societies.” 13
From the perspective of the Inter-American Court, this right has
been closely linked to the right of the next of kin of the victims in
cases of serious human rights violations. Specifically, it was initially
linked to the extended nature of forced disappearance. 14
Considering the initial link between the right to truth in the interAmerican system and forced disappearances, both the InterAmerican Court and the Commission have established different
obligations that correspond to the States in cases of forced
disappearances, among which is "an obligation to establish the
facts of what happened, locate the victims’ whereabouts or their
remains, and inform the next of kin to that effect,” 15 obligations
that continue to be reiterated by the Court from the judgment in
the Case of Goiburú et al. v. Paraguay from September 22, 2006, 16
to this day.
However, I am of the mind that it is necessary to understand the
right to the truth as an autonomous right, without prejudice to the
fact that it is also part of the general principles of law—or of
customary law—in the terms proposed. This nature of principle-law
allows it to be invoked not only under articles 8 and 25 of the
Taken from: Gerardo Bernales Rojas, “El Derecho a la Verdad.” Estudios Constitucionales vol.14 no.2, Santiago,
Chile, 2016. Available at https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-52002016000200009&script=sci_arttext
14
Taken from: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “The Right to Truth in the Americas,”
OEA/Ser.L/V/II.152,
Doc.
2,
August
13,
2014,
para.
56.
Available
at:
http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/Derecho-Verdad-es.pdf.
15
Taken from: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “The Right to Truth in the Americas,”
OEA/Ser.L/V/II.152,
Doc.
2,
August
13,
2014,
para.
60.
Available
at:
http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/Derecho-Verdad-es.pdf.
16
Para. 89.
13