24
private individuals who act in the name of the Government or with its direct or indirect support,
its authorization, or consent, followed by an absence of information or a refusal to acknowledge
that deprivation of liberty or to give information on the whereabouts of that person, thereby
impeding his or her recourse to the applicable legal remedies and procedural guarantees
84.
For its part, Articles II and III of the ICFDP79 define forced disappearance as:
the act of depriving a person or persons of his or their freedom, in whatever way,
perpetrated by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the
authorization, support, or acquiescence of the State, followed by an absence of information
or a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the
whereabouts of that person, thereby impeding his or her recourse to the applicable legal
remedies and procedural guarantees.
[...]
This offense shall be deemed continuing or permanent as long as the fate or whereabouts
of the victim has not been determined.
85. The Court has taken into account that in the definitions of the Working Group on Forced
and Involuntary Disappearances of Persons of the United Nations, the Declaration on the
Protection of All Persons against Forced Disappearance of the UN, the ICDFP, other
international instruments80, the Jurisprudence of the European System of Human Rights81,
the Jurisprudence of the United Nations organs,82 as well as in the Rome Statute,83
concurrent and constitutive elements of forced disappearance are pointed out: a) the
deprivation of liberty; b) the direct intervention of state agents or their acquiescence, and c)
the refusal to acknowledge the detention and to reveal the situation or the whereabouts of
the interested person.84
86.
The Court has verified the international consolidation in the analysis of this crime
that configures a grave violation of human rights, given the particular relevance of the
transgressions that it entails and the nature of the injured rights,85 implicating a clear
79
Cf. Travaux préparatoires of the CIDFP.
80
Cf. UN, International Convention for the Protection of Persons Against Forced Disappearance, Article 2.
81
Cf. Eur. Ct. H.R., Case of Kurt v. Turkey, 15/1997/799/1002, May 25, 1998, paras. 124 to 128; Case of
Çakici v. Turkey, Application no. 23657/94, 8 July 1999, paras. 104 to 106; Case of Timurtas v. Turkey, Application
no. 23531/94, 13 June 2000, paras. 102 to 105; Case of Tas v. Turkey, Application no. 24396/94, November 14,
2000, paras. 84 to 87; Case of Cyprus v. Turkey, supra note 24, paras. 132 to 134 and 147 to 148.
82
Cf. United Nations Human Rights Committee, Ivan Somers v. Hungría, Comunication No. 566/1993, 57º
Period of Sessions, CCPR/C/57/D/566/1993 (1996), July 23, 1996, par. 6.3; case of E. y A.K. v. Hungría, Comunication
No. 520/1992, 50º Period of Sessions, CCPR/C/50/D/520/1992 (1994), May 5, 1994, par. 6.4, and case of Solorzano
v. Venezuela, Comunication No. 156/1983, 27º Period of Sessions, CCPR/C/27/D/156/1983 (1986), March 26, 1986,
par. 5.6.
83
Cf. Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), Document of the UN A/CONF.183/9, July
17, 1998. This instrument defines “forced disappearance of persons” as “the apprehension, the detention or the
kidnapping of persons by one State or political organization, or with its authorization, support, or consent, followed
by the omission to inform on the deprivation of liberty or to provide information regarding the whereabouts of the
remains of said persons, with the intention of constricting their means to a legal remedy for a prolonged period.
84
Cf. Case Gómez Palomino V. Perú. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 22 of November of 2005.
Series C No. 136. para. 97; Case Heliodoro Portugal V. Panamá, supra note 76, para. 110, and Case Ticona Estrada
et. al. V. Bolivia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 27 of November of 2008. Series C No. 191, para. 55.
85
In the relevant part, the ICFDP, in the preamble, establishes that:
“Considering that the forced
disappearance of persons of persons violates numerous non-derogable and essential human rights enshrined in the