18. A reasonable time is particularly important in this case since most of the victims are aged,
more than 70 years old. This will be analyzed in the following section.
IV.
THE VULNERABILITY OF OLDER VICTIMS
19. It is relevant that the Court emphasized that the harm involved in the reasonable time
had "a differentiated impact on the victims due to their age, as most of them were in their
80s or 90s and some of them had even died, more than 800 victims, […] whose right was
never made effective.” The decision of February 12, 1992 has not been fully complied with,
which has had a serious impact on the victims in that they are older persons who have not
obtained the payments that they are owed. As was analyzed, the right to wages is related to
its nutritional and survival nature.
20. The Court, therefore, refers to the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human
Rights of Older Persons, to which Peru is a party. 10 That Convention includes the obligation of
the States to guarantee equality and non-discrimination (Article 3(d)), proper treatment and
preferential care (Article 3(k)) and effective judicial protection (Article 3(n)). The Court also
refers to the Brasilia Regulations regarding access to justice for vulnerable people, approved
by the XIV Ibero-American Judicial Summit in 2008 and updated at the XIX Summit in 2018,
which places older persons in the category of especially vulnerable people.
21. This special vulnerability requires expeditiousness in the judicial processes in which older
persons are a party. Thus, Article 4 of the Inter-American Convention expressly establishes
that the States undertake to “Adopt and strengthen such legislative, administrative, judicial,
budgetary, and any other measures […], including adequate access to justice, in order to
ensure a differentiated and preferential treatment for older persons in all areas.” Along the
same line, Article 31 of that treaty states that "judicial action must be particularly expedited
in instances where the health or life of the older person may be at risk.”
22. The "increased protection" has also been mentioned by the UN ESCER Committee in its
General Comment No. 6 on "the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons,” by
stating “[...] the States parties to the Covenant are obligated to to pay particular attention to
promoting and protecting the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons.” 11 In that
same General Comment, the Committee refers to the Vienna International Plan of Action on
Ageing of the United Nations, 12 which reports that "in most areas of the world efforts of older
persons to participate in work and economic activities which will satisfy their need to
contribute to the life of the community and benefit society as a whole meet with difficulties.
Age discrimination is prevalent: many older workers are unable to remain in the labour force
or to re-enter it because of age discrimination. In some countries this situation tends to impact
women more severely. The integration of the aged into the machinery of development affects
both the rural and urban population groups."
23. The European Court of Human Rights has stressed the need for special diligence in
processing cases in which the issue raised is urgent and has identified among those cases;
for example, those that concern employment and pension disputes; 13 those that involve a
petitioner with an incurable disease or a reduced life expectancy; 14 those in which the dispute
10
Peru deposited its instrument of accession to the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights
of Older Persons on March 1, 2021.
11
Cf. UN, ESCR Committee, General Comment No. 6, (1995), para. 13.
12
UN, Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, 1982.
13
Cf. ECHR. Case of Borgese v. Italy, January 24, 1992, para. 18.
14
Cf. ECHR, Case of Konig v. Germany, June 28, 1978, para. 111
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