81 had an aggravated impact that entails the State’s international responsibility,”259 and it takes this into account when deciding reparations. 82. The CEH Report established that: During the armed conflict, events took place that impaired the existence of the Mayan people owing to the attacks on their integrity and identity. The violations had a cumulative effect. For example, the deprivation of certain economic activities or the dispossession of land affected not only the food supply and the physical conditions of subsistence, but also the cultural references which underlie the collective identity, the accumulated knowledge and techniques, the system of social relations and family relationships, the sacred conception of the land, the religious rites of reciprocity and payment to nature. And vice versa: the violation of the cultural rights, the repression of the culture and the symbols of identity, the prohibition to perform religious rites or ceremonies, impeded the reproduction of social relations, the formation of family relationships, the facilitation of financial practices, and fragmented the sense of belonging to a group.260 83. Indeed, owing to the gravity of the facts of the instant case and the situation of impunity in which they remain, the intensity of the suffering caused to the victims, the alterations in their living conditions, and the other consequences of a nonmaterial or non-pecuniary nature, the Court considers it necessary to order the payment of compensation for non-pecuniary damage, in fairness.261 84. When assessing the non-pecuniary damage caused in the case sub judice, the Court has taken into consideration the words of Benjamín Manuel Jerónimo and Eulalio Grave Ramírez in their statements made before notary public (supra para. 32(a) and 32(b)), and of Juan Manuel Jerónimo, Buenaventura Manuel Jerónimo and Narcisa Corazón Jerónimo in their testimonies given before this Court during the public hearing (supra para. 38(a), 38(b) and 38(c)), when they said that the damage caused to them was representative of that caused to the other victims, most of whom belong to the Maya-Achí people. The Court has also taken into account the words of Luis Rodolfo Ramírez García and José Fernando Moscoso in their statements before notary public (supra para. 32(c) and 32(d)), and the expert reports of Augusto Willemsen-Díaz and Nieves Gómez Dupuis (supra para. 38(d) and 38(e)), given before this Court during the public hearing. 85. The Court observes that, in the instant case, the victims belonging to the Mayan indigenous people, of the Achí linguistic community, possess their own traditional authorities and forms of community organization, centered on consensus and respect. They have their own social, economic and cultural structures. For the members of these communities, harmony with the environment is expressed by their spiritual relationship with the land, the way they manage their resources and a profound respect for nature. Traditions, rites and customs have an essential place in their community life. Their spirituality is reflected in the close relationship between the living and the dead, and is expressed, based on burial rites, as a form of permanent contact and solidarity with their ancestors. The transmission of culture and knowledge is one of the roles assigned to the elders and the women. 259 Case of the Plan de Sánchez Massacre, supra note 17, para. 51. 260 CEH Report, supra note 238, tome III, p. 181, paras. 2887 and 2888. 261 Case of Tibi, supra note 3, para. 243; Case of the “Juvenile Reeducation Institute”, supra note 3, para. 299, and Case of Ricardo Canese, supra note 3, para. 205.