25
101. In this case, the police not only failed to diligently investigate the complaint made by the
parents, but refused to accept the complain the initial hours, which were of critical importance in the
case of a young woman reported as missing.
102. As the Inter-American Court wrote, States should not merely abstain from violating
rights, but must adopt positive measures to be determined based on the specific needs of protection of
the subject of law, either because of his or her personal situation or because of the specific
circumstances in which he or she finds himself.93 In the instant case, given that Claudina Isabel
Velásquez was in peril from the moment her parents sought to report her as missing, it was the State’s
duty to take immediate steps to look for her. The above was especially true, given the context of
violence against women of which the state was aware.
103. Indeed, as is explained in the section on established facts, in view of the situation in
Guatemala, by 2005 the State was well aware of the escalation in violence against girls and women in
that country and, therefore, that the alleged victim was facing the very real and imminent danger of
possible sexual assault or possibly murder.94 As was established in the section on proven facts, in this
particular case, Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz was found dead with signs of having been the victim of
violence.
104. Article 5(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights provides, “Every person has
the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity respected.” In the case of Claudina Isabel
Velásquez Paiz, the IACHR notes that, according to what was established in the section on proven facts,
her body was found with her clothes on inside out and her brassiere removed. According to a police
report, the brassiere was covered in blood and the alleged victim was not wearing it; rather it was
around her trousers, which led to the presumption that she had been raped.95 Despite the discovery, it
was determined that her genital organs were “normal” and the presence of semen was later discovered
in the alleged victim’s vaginal cavity. Despite the fact that the authorities did not offer a conclusion
about the possibility that she had been raped, notwithstanding the aforementioned evidence, in
addition to the bruising around the orbit and jaw, as well as the bleeding around the nose,96 it is fair to
surmise that when the alleged victim’s body was discovered it bore signs of having been subjected to
violence and other abuse, and therefore, the State’s failure to prevent had consequences for Claudina
Isabel Velásquez’s physical integrity.
105. The Commission notes that while the number of reported violent deaths between 2000
and 2005 rose in the population as a whole, the increase was considerably higher in women. The figures
93
I/A Court H.R., Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgment of November 16, 2009. Series C No. 205, par. 243.
94
Application to the I/A Court H.R., María Isabel Véliz Franco, Case 12.578, Guatemala, May 3, 2012. See:
http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/decisions/cases.asp
95
Appendix 11. report by investigators Jose Antonio Anaya and Dairyn Antonieta López, RAC. 2005-4813 of October
24, 2005, addressed to Celeste Díaz García, Government Prosecutor, Unit No. 14. Copy of judicial record presented by the
petitioners on May 31, 2012.
96
Appendix 26. Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman. Informe de Verificación sobre Violaciones al deber de
investigar en el caso de Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz [Verification Report on Violations of the Duty to Investigate in the Case
of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz]., 24 de octubre de 2006.