37 140 under Article 5(1) and 5(2).” Specifically, the Court has determined that it is clear that in the case of a forced 141 disappearance, the victim’s personal integrity is affected in all its dimensions. 192. The Commission noted in its 1993 report on Peru that, at the time the events, violations of the right to life, such as forced disappearance, were frequently preceded by mistreatment and torture, generally aimed at forcing the victims to make self-incriminating confessions to get those victims to provide information on subversive groups or to create the kind of fear among the people that will deter them from cooperating with 142 subversive groups. 193. Besides the feelings of anxiety and fear inspired by the forced disappearance, the Commission has taken as established that on July 4, 1991, as the 15 victims were being taken to Misteriosa mine they were beaten and forced to walk for several hours with their hands bound and tied by their necks, and that they were not given food or water. Consequently, the Commission concludes that the victims were humiliated, tortured, and in fear for their lives. The Commission underscores that this assumption is made independently of the ages of the victims. The Commission notes that the ages of the child victims at the time of the events ran from 8 months to 6 143 years old, a factor that should be taken into account in weighing their suffering. 194. With respect to the right to life, the Inter-American Court has repeatedly held that said right is a fundamental human right, the full exercise of which is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of all other human 144 rights. The Court has also said that the foregoing means that States have both the obligation to guarantee the creation of the necessary conditions to ensure that violations of this inalienable right do not occur, as well as the 145 duty to prevent the infringement of the said right by its officials or private individuals. According to the Court, the object and purpose of the Convention, as an instrument for the protection of the human being, requires that 146 the right to life be interpreted and enforced so that its guarantees are truly practical and effective (effet utile). 195. According to the Court’s case law, the practice of disappearances has frequently involved the secret execution of those detained, without trial, followed by concealment of the corpse in order to eliminate any material evidence of the crime and to ensure absolute impunity, which entails a brutal violation of the right to life, 147 established in Article 4 of the Convention. The jurisprudence of the Inter-American system has also determined that when a person has disappeared in violent circumstances and remained disappeared for a long time it is 148 reasonable to presume that he has been killed. 140 I/A Court H.R., Velásquez Rodríguez Case. Merits, pars. 156 and 187; Case of the Miguel Castro-Castro Prison. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 25, 2006. Series C, No. 160, par. 323; I/A Court H.R. Case of Ticona Estrada et al. v. Bolivia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 27, 2008. Series C, No. 191, par. 58. 141 I/A Court H.R. Case of Ticona Estrada et al. v. Bolivia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 27, 2008. Series C, No. 191, par. 58. 142 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Peru, March 12, 1993, pars. 18 et seq. 143 IACHR, Report No. 95/09, Cases 12.494, 12.517, 12.518, Gregoria Herminia et al., El Salvador, September 8, 2009, par. 195. 144 I/A Court H.R., Case of Zambrano-Vélez et al. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 4, 2007. Series C, No. 166, par. 78; and The “Street Children” Case (Villagrán Morales et al.). Judgment of November 19, 1999. Series C, No. 63, par. 144. 145 I/A Court H.R., The “Street Children” Case (Villagrán Morales et al.). Judgment of November 19, 1999. Series C, No. 63, par. 144. 146 I/A Court H.R., Case of Zambrano-Vélez et al. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 4, 2007. Series C, No. 166, par. 79; andCase of Baldeón García. Judgment of April 6, 2006. Series C, No. 147, par. 83. 147 I/A Court H.R., Case of the 19 Merchants. Judgment of July 5, 2004. Series C, No. 109. par. 154; Bámaca Velásquez Case. Judgment of November 25, 2000. Series C, No. 70. par. 130. 148 I/A Court H.R., Velásquez Rodríguez Case. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C, No. 4, par. 188.