IX RIGHTS TO PERSONAL LIBERTY AND INTEGRITY, TO LIFE AND TO JURIDICAL PERSONALITY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE RÍO NEGRO COMMUNITY WHO WERE FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED, AND THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDREN OF RÍO NEGRO WHO WERE FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED, IN RELATION TO THE OBLIGATION TO RESPECT AND GUARANTEE RIGHTS A. Arguments of the parties and of the Inter-American Commission 109. The Commission alleged that during the massacre of May 14, 1982, in Los Encuentros (supra para. 80), members of the Guatemalan Army and of the Civil Selfdefense Patrols “disappeared around 15 people, of which [the Commission was able] to identify, at least, Ramona Lajuj and [the minor] Manuel Chen Sánchez.” According to the Commission, the forced disappearance of these individuals constitutes a multiple and continuing violation, aggravated by the fact that it took place in the context of systematic persecution against the Río Negro community. Thus, it argued that, because they were “forced into helicopters, in the absence of any provision established [… by law],” Ramona Lajuj and Manuel Chen Sanchez suffered “unlawful and arbitrary detention that in itself place[d] [them...] in a situation of vulnerability creating a real risk that other rights could be violated […].” In this way, it indicated that it was evident that these individuals felt great fear and anguish “on finding themselves […] approached by soldiers and patrollers.” The Commission also indicated that the fact that they have remained missing for several years in a context of violence is sufficient to conclude that they were deprived of their life. Lastly, the Commission argued that the disappearance of Ramona Lajuj and Manuel Chen Sánchez led to their exclusion from the State’s legal and institutional system with the purpose of creating a legal vacuum and preventing them from exercising their rights. Based on this, the Commission argued that the Guatemalan State had violated, to the detriment of Ramona Lajuj and Manuel Chen Sánchez, Articles 3, 4, 5 and 7 of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, and had failed to comply with the obligations established in Article I of the Convention on Forced Disappearance. With regard to the child Manuel Chen Sánchez, the Commission argued that the State had also violated Article 19 of the American Convention. 110. The representatives endorsed the Commission’s arguments and forwarded the Court a list identifying, in addition to Ramona Lajuj and Manuel Chen Sanchez, another 15 of those who were supposedly forced to board a helicopter and were then disappeared by the Army on May 14, 1982, during the Los Encuentros massacre (supra para. 80). In this regard, they argued that the forced disappearance of these people gave rise to the violation of Articles 3, 4(1), 5(1), 5(2) and 7(1) of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument, to their detriment. 111. For its part, the State indicated its “total acknowledgement” of responsibility for the violations alleged by the Commission to the detriment of Ramona Lajuj and Manuel Chen Sánchez (supra para. 17(a)). However, it made no observations with regard to the other individuals mentioned by the Commission and the representatives. B. Forced disappearance as a multiple and continuing violation of human rights 47