4
18.
Clearly, the preservation of the rights of those people deprived of liberty and
the elimination of the intolerable violence that exists in many prisons, are related to a
full, deep and effective reorganization -- not limited to legal reforms and official
debates --, of the preventive custody and prison system that would require, besides, a
profound consideration of its frequency and manner of application and substitution.
19.
The protection of life and integrity constitutes one of the focusing centers of the
protection of human rights in prisons that comprise, apart from the measures that
strictly lead to the preservation of such interests, all those measures that are intended
to guarantee the respect for the human dignity of the inmates and the achievement of
the goals that are supposed to be achieved through the confinement of the convicts.
But the issues related to the major pending amendment and its characteristics are
typical of a Judgment of the Court and not of provisional measures, taking into account
the nature and scope -- provisional and physical – of one and the others.
20.
All of this leads to reconsider the true matter of the provisional measures,
taking into account its nature and its possible efficacy. They were designed to face
urgent, immediate and imminent problems, through decisions and measures that
cannot be postponed. These measures do not always seem to be the most suitable way
to deal with structural and fundamental problems that offer several answers and call
for multiple, complex and insisting measures in the short, medium and long- run.
Therefore, it is essential to point out, as the Court has done it, that while the State
makes the appropriate adjustments to deal with the structural problems (in the matter
of prisons), the persons confined in such premises (Rodeo I and II) who are being
affected by such flaws, be protected by provisional measures (…)” (Consid. cl. 14).
21.
Clearly, I am not suggesting the adoption of strict and immutable criteria in
relation to the issue I referred to in the above paragraph. The circumstances will tell
what it is advisable according to the specific situation and the uniform project of
providing effective –not just assertive – protection to persons.
22.
Obviously, the fact that the Court lay emphasis now on the protection of life
and integrity does not forbids nor intends to question, of course, the entry into force or
the efficacy of the measures previously adopted in other cases, according to their own
circumstances and the development of the case-law of the Inter-American Tribunal.
Sergio García Ramírez
Judge
Pablo Saavedra Alessandri
Secretary
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