40.
Additionally, the right to personal integrity is of such importance that
the American Convention protects it specifically upon establishing, inter alia,
the prohibition on torture, cruel, and inhumane treatment, and the
impossibility of suspending this right during states of emergency.31
41.
The rights to life and personal integrity require not only that the State
respect them (negative obligation), but also that the State take all
appropriate measures to ensure them (positive obligation), in fulfilling its
general obligation established in Article 1(1) of the Convention. 32
42.
The Court has established that from the general obligation to respect
and guarantee rights established in Article 1(1) of the American Convention,
determinable special rights are derived as a function of the particular
necessity for protection of the holder of the right, given either his or her
personal condition or his or her specific situation.33 This Court has held that,
under Article 5(1) and 5(2) of the Convention, every person deprived of his or
her liberty has the right to live in detention conditions compatible with his or
her personal dignity. Consequently, since the State is the institution
responsible for detention establishments, it is the guarantor of the rights of
those under its custody.34 This implies the State’s duty to guarantee the
health and welfare of inmates by providing them, among other things, with
required medical care, and it must also ensure that the manner and method
of any deprivation of liberty do not exceed the unavoidable level of suffering
inherent in detention.35 The States cannot invoke economic hardships to
justify imprisonment conditions that do not comply with minimum
international standards and respect the inherent dignity of the human being.36
43.
In turn, the rights to life and personal integrity are directly and closely
linked with human health care. In this sense, Article 10 of the Additional
31
Articles 5 and 27 of the American Convention. See, also, Case of “Juvenile Reeducation
Institute” V. Paraguay. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
September 2, 2004. Series C No. 112, para. 157.
32
Cf. Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al.) V. Guatemala, supra note 29,
para. 139; Case of González et al. (“Cotton Fields”) V. México, supra note 21, para. 245, and
Case of Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community. V. Paraguay, supra note 21, para. 187.
33
Cf. Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre V. Colombia. Merits, Reparations and Costs.
Judgment of January 31, 2006. Series C No. 140, para. 111; Case of González et al. (“Cotton
Fields”) V. México, supra note 21, para. 243, and Case of Vélez Loor v. Panamá, supra note 3,
para. 98.
34
Cf. Case of Neira Alegría et al. V. Perú. Merits. Judgment of January 19, 1995. Series C
No. 20, para. 60; Case of Yvon Neptune V. Haití. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 6
de mayo de 2008. Series C No. 180, para. 130, and Case of Vélez Loor v. Panamá, supra note 3,
para. 198.
35
Cf. Case of “Juvenile Reeducation Institute” V. Paraguay, supra note 32, para. 159; Case
of Yvon Neptune V. Haití, supra note 35, para. 130, and Case of Vélez Loor v. Panamá, supra
note 3, para. 198.
36
Cf. Case of Montero Aranguren et al. (Detention Center of Catia) V. Venezuela. Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 5, 2006. Series C No. 150, paras. 85 and 87; Case of
Boyce et al. V. Barbados. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
November 20, 2007. Series C No. 169, para. 88, and Case of Vélez Loor v. Panamá, supra note
3, para. 198.
18