23. The State alleges that the instant case is inadmissible because domestic remedies in El Salvador have yet to be exhausted. It notes, in this regard, the existence of a criminal proceeding open in the investigative stage, which would mean that a domestic decision is pending. In addition, it notes that available remedies were not exhausted in the proper time frame, such as habeas corpus and lodging a complaint with the International Committee of the Red Cross. The State argues that a writ of habeas corpus was filed in 2002, though it could have been filed at any time before that; that this writ was admitted and that pursuant to it a criminal investigation was initiated by the Office of the Attorney General, which is continuing. The State adds that on September 12, 1980, it signed a headquarters agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross, for it to establish a permanent delegation in El Salvador. Under this agreement, the ICRC installed a search agency to record the requests from family members of persons allegedly detained or considered disappeared. Two of these offices were located in Santa Ana and San Miguel. It is argued that the document provided by the ICRC on May 15, 1993, which set forth the complaints received with respect to disappearances from 1979 to 1992, there was no document noting complaints involving the disappearance of minors. 24. For their part, the petitioners argue that the domestic remedies are ineffective, but that even so they have pursued all possible means to discover the whereabouts of the siblings Gregoria Herminia Contreras, Serapio Cristián Contreras, and Julia Inés Contreras. The petitioners note that more than 11 years have elapsed since the case was denounced, and the Salvadoran authorities have not done anything at all to ensure the effectiveness of the investigation, determine the persons responsible, punish them, and make reparation to the victims or their next-of-kin. While the case remains open, the Salvadoran authorities have not carried out an exhaustive investigation to determine the siblings’ whereabouts. According to the petitioners, the inactive role of the Office of the Attorney General shows that the domestic remedies available constitute a mere formality. 25. In the instant case, it is argued that members of the Salvadoran Army were allegedly responsible for the forced disappearance of three children in the midst of the internal armed conflict in El Salvador. That period was characterized by systematic human rights violations and impunity, facilitated in part by the ineffectiveness of the Salvadoran judicial system. 6 Taking into account the particular circumstances of the case, and the context, the Commission considers that at the time of the facts alleged, it was neither possible nor necessary to pursue any remedy. 26. As of the date of the adoption of this report, domestic remedies have not operated with the effectiveness required to investigate a complaint of a forced disappearance. In effect, almost 12 years have elapsed since the Salvadoran authorities learned of the facts. In effect, the mother of the alleged victims reported their disappearance to the Truth Commission in 1993. That same year, the Truth Commission published its Report, and delivered it to the authorities in El Salvador. The Report contains the names of the three siblings. 7 Nonetheless, as of the adoption of this report, what happened has not been definitively established. 6 In its annual reports published during the conflict, the IACHR on several occasions described the violence and the failure to provide effective judicial protection of those rights. For example: The right to justice has also been deeply affected by the state of emergency that governs in El Salvador. The statement of the Commission in its previous Annual Report should be reiterated: the American Convention on Human Rights does not authorize suspension of the judicial guarantees necessary to protect fundamental rights, even less so when that suspension is in force for unduly long periods, as has happened in El Salvador. To this should be added the lack of independence and authority of its judiciary, against whose members criminal acts have also been practiced. The extreme restrictions on judicial guarantees have led, as stated earlier, to the failure to conclude of many trials, leading to a lack of confidence in the judicial system among the population. 7 See From Madness to Hope: The 12-year war in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, United Nations, 1993. The list of victims is in the Annexes, Volume II.6.c. Indirect source, p. 33. 6