REPORT No. 109/10 PETITION 1420-05 ADMISSIBILITY FLORENTÍN GUDIEL RAMOS, MAKRINA GUDIEL ÁLVAREZ ET AL. GUATEMALA September 8, 2010 I. SUMMARY 1. On December 9, 2005, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the “Commission,” “Inter-American Commission,” or “IACHR”) received a petition submitted by Claudia Samayoa and Makrina Gudiel Álvarez (hereinafter “the petitioners”), representing Florentín Gudiel Ramos and Makrina Gudiel Álvarez (hereinafter the “alleged victims”). The petition was filed against the State of Guatemala (hereinafter the “State,” “Guatemalan State,” or “Guatemala”) for its failure to fulfill its duty to investigate with due diligence the murder of the human rights defender, Florentín Gudiel Ramos, on December 20, 2004. 2. The petitioners allege that the Guatemalan State is responsible for violating the rights enshrined in Article 4 (right to life) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the “Convention” or “American Convention”) consistent with the general obligation under Article 1.1 of that international instrument, to the detriment of Florentín Gudiel Ramos. They also allege the violation of Articles 5 (person integrity), 8 (judicial guarantees), and 25 (judicial protection) of the American Convention, consistent with Article 1.1 of that international instrument, to the detriment of Makrina Gudiel Álvarez and other family members. 3. For its part, the State maintains that domestic remedies have not been exhausted and that the instant case is still in the investigation phase. Nonetheless, it does not oppose the petition filed by the Gudiel family. 4. Without prejudging the merits of the case, after analyzing the positions of the parties, and pursuant to the requirements established in Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention, the Commission decides to declare the case admissible for purposes of analyzing the alleged violation of the right established in Article 4 of the American Convention consistent with Article 1.1 thereof, with respect to Florentín Gudiel Ramos. It also decides to declare the case admissible as to the alleged violation of the rights established in Articles 5.1, 8.1, and 25, consistent with Article 1.1 thereof, with respect to Makrina Gudiel Álvarez and her relatives. The Commission further decides to inform the parties of this decision, to publish it, and include it in its Annual Report to the OAS General Assembly OEA. II. PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION 5. On December 9, 2005, the Commission received the petition and assigned it number 142005. On April 13, 2006, the IACHR forwarded the relevant sections of the petition to the State of Guatemala, asking it to submit its response within a period of two months, pursuant to the provisions of Article 30.2 of the IACHR Rules of Procedure in effect at the time. The State’s response was received on June 20, 2005. That communication was duly forwarded to the petitioners. 6. The IACHR received information from the petitioners on August 24, 2006, June 6, 2008, January 22, 2009, May 6, 2009, June 23, 2009, and October 22, 2009. Those communications were forwarded to the State. 7. The IACHR also received information from the State on October 2, 2006, July 23, 2008, September 18, 2008, November 14, 2008, March 27, 2009, April 14, 2009, June 12, 2009, July 28, 2009, and November 3, 2009. Those communications were duly forwarded to the petitioners. III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES 1