131. Having established this characterization of what happened to Paola, the IACHR will now proceed to analyze the causal link between that situation of violence against her and her death. Here there is no dispute as to the fact that on December 12, 2002, Paola Guzmán Albarracín swallowed 11 white phosphorous pellets known as "diablillos" and that she died as a result of that action the next day in the Kennedy Clinic. 132. In another section, the Commission will analyze how the school authorities acted on December 12, 2012, after hearing about Paola’s attempted suicide. On this matter, the Commission stresses that there are multiple indications of a causal link between the situation of violence suffered by Paolo and her attempt to kill herself. The conclusions reached in the expert opinion by psychiatrist Dr. Ximena Cortés point clearly to such a link. Dr. Cortés further asserted that "there was no mental disturbance at the time that would have caused her to commit suicide." Likewise, the Commission draws attention to the fact that the letters that Paola wrote before swallowing the pellets make it clear that the decision to take her own life had to do with her relationship with the Vice Principal. The circumstantial evidence related to the existence of a possible pregnancy, which, as will be analyzed below, could not be clarified due to negligence and irregularities at the initial stages of investigation. amounts to another pointer to a causal link between the violence Paola endured and her suicide. The Commission further stresses that the Ecuadorian State did not deny this causal link and that no alternative hypothesis regarding her death emerges from the domestic proceedings. 133. The Commission considers that all the elements culled thus far, taken together, justify a conviction that Paola del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín was a victim of violence based on her being a women and girl, including sexual violence perpetrated by Mr. Bolívar Espín and the school doctor, both of whom are public servants, and that there is a direct causal link between Paola's circumstances at school and her decision to take her own life. 4. Analysis of the attribution of international responsibility to the State 4.1 General considerations regarding the duty to respect and guarantee human rights 134. Ever since its first judgment in a contentious case, the Inter-American Court stated that: Article 1(1) is essential in determining whether a violation of the human rights recognized by the Convention can be imputed to a State Party. In effect, that article charges the States Parties with the fundamental duty to respect and guarantee the rights recognized in the Convention. Any impairment of those rights that can be attributed, under the rules of international law, to the act or omission of any public authority constitutes an act imputable to the State and which entails its responsibility as established in the Convention.159 135. The international responsibility of the State may be based on acts or omissions committed by any of its authorities or organs that violate the American Convention and it is generated immediately by the international illegal act of which it is charged. In such circumstances, to establish a violation of the rights enshrined in the Convention one need not determine, as in domestic criminal law, the guilt of its agents or their intent, nor need one individually identify the agents to which the violations are attributed. It is sufficient to demonstrate “that acts or omissions have been verified that have allowed the perpetration of these violations or that a State obligation exists that the State has failed to meet.”160 136. In the course of their work, the Commission and the Court have defined the contents of the obligations to respect and guarantee under Article 1.1 of the Convention. Concerning the obligation to respect, I/A Court H.R. Velásquez Rodríguez Case v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4. par. 164. I/A Court H.R. Case of Gonzalez Medina and Family v. Dominican Republic. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of February 27, 2012 Series C No. 240, par. 133; I/A Court H.R., Case of the Massacre of Pueblo Bello v. Colombia, Judgment of January 31, 2006, Series C No. 140, par. 112. 159 160