10 genocide of which the indigenous peoples of Rabinal were allegedly victims at the time of the facts alleged, made reference to multiple and diverse manifestations of violence which – independent of the individual or collective nature of the victims who suffered them – were necessarily interrelated inasmuch 17 as they are said to have been part of a pattern of institutionalized violence that had a single purpose. 42. In this regard, the Commission notes that (1) the facts alleged occurred from 1981 to 1986 during the armed conflict in Guatemala; (2) the alleged perpetrators of the various human rights violations claimed are said to have been members of the Guatemalan Army, the PAC and/or military commissioners; (3) the modus operandi in each of the facts claimed could correspond to a systematic pattern supposedly planned against the Maya indigenous people; (4) the alleged victims are members of the Maya indigenous people, specifically of the Achí linguistic community; and (5) the alleged victims lived in villages located in the department of Baja Verapaz, specifically in the area of Rabinal. Accordingly, having considered the foregoing, and the nature of the operations by the Army, the PAC and the military 18 commissioners in the time frame of the different facts alleged , the Commission rejects the request to separate the claims into different cases made by the Guatemalan State and considers it appropriate to analyze all the facts alleged in the petition together. B. Exhaustion of domestic remedies 43. Article 46(1)(a) of the American Convention states that, in order for a complaint filed before the Inter-American Commission to be admissible under Article 44 of the Convention, domestic remedies must have been pursued and exhausted in keeping with generally recognized principles of international law. The purpose of this requirement is to afford national authorities the opportunity to address the alleged violation of a protected right, and where appropriate resolve it, before the matter is brought to the attention of an international body. 44. Article 46(2) of the Convention provides that the rule requiring prior exhaustion of domestic remedies does not apply: (a) when the domestic legislation does not afford due process for the protection of the right in question; (b) if the alleged victim did not have access to domestic remedies; and (c) if there was unwarranted delay in rendering a final judgment under those remedies. 45. In the instant case, the State of Guatemala alleges failure to exhaust domestic remedies on the grounds that criminal proceedings are in progress in connection with the massacre perpetrated in 19 the village of Chichupac and the acts of violence directed at some of the victims. It provided no information on the status of the judicial proceedings related to the other facts alleged and filed no objections. Additionally, the State claimed that administrative proceedings were available but had not been exhausted. The petitioners, for their part, argue that access to domestic remedies was denied, the impossibility of exhausting them, and that there has been an unwarranted delay in the administration of justice. 46. According to the information produced by the parties and the documentation included in the record, a series of allegations of acts of violence against the alleged victims have been presented to Guatemalan authorities, based on which still-pending investigations were begun. 47. Regarding the remedies pursued concerning the massacre in the village of Chichupac on January 8, 1982, the file indicates that on March 25, 1993 a complaint was presented before the Court of 17 The judicial files supplied by the petitioners reveal a series of complaints concerning acts of violence committed against many groups of persons; only some of these have been named as alleged victims in this case. 18 IACHR, Report on the Merits 59/01, Cases: 10,626 Remigio Domingo Morales and Rafael Sánchez; 10,627 Pedro Tau Cac; 11,198(A) José María Ixcaya Pixtay and others; 10,799 Catalino Chochoy, José Corino Thesen, and Abelino Baycaj; 10,751 Juan Galicia Hernández, Andrés Abelino Galicia Gutiérrez, and Orlando Adelso Galicia Gutiérrez; and 10,901 Antulio Delgado, Guatemala, April 7, 2001, para. 2. IACHR, Merits Report No. 39/00, Case 10,586, and others, Extrajudicial Executions, Guatemala, April 13, 2000, para. 2. 19 They are named in paragraphs 31 and 32 of this report.