79
cultural characteristics of the victims. Furthermore, possible links between those directly
responsible for the sexual violence and their hierarchical superiors should be investigated, as well
as any elements that would demonstrate discriminatory intent and/or the intent to commit
genocide. 318
257. Therefore, the Court considers that the State failed to fulfill its obligation to investigate the
serious human rights violations that occurred and/or were alleged in the instant case, including,
alleged acts of violence, rape, forced labor, torture, crimes against humanity, war crimes and
acts of genocide.
258. The Commission also alleged that the State violated Article 24 of the American Convention
by failing to investigate the pattern of racial discrimination that allowed the persecution of the
Maya indigenous people. In this regard, in previous cases, the Court has established violations of
Article 24 of the Convention when it found a violation of access to justice based on discriminatory
criteria. 319 However, in this case, the Commission did not allege specific acts of discrimination in
the context of the investigations that prevented the victims’ next of kin from having access to
justice because they belonged to the Maya indigenous people. Thus, the Court does not have
sufficient evidence to rule on this alleged violation.
B.3. Right to know the truth and reasonable time
259. With respect to the length of the proceedings in general, this Court has indicated that the
“reasonable time” referred to in Article 8(1) of the Convention must be assessed in relation to
the total duration of the proceedings until the final judgment is delivered. The right of access to
justice implies that the dispute must be resolved within a reasonable time, since a prolonged
delay may, in itself, constitute a violation of judicial guarantees. 320 In this regard, the Court has
usually considered the following elements to determine the reasonableness of the time: a) the
complexity of the matter; b) the procedural activity of the interested party; c) the conduct of the
judicial authorities, and d) the effects on the legal situation of the person involved in the
proceedings. However, in this case approximately 34 years have passed since the massacre at
Rwanda); ICTR, Trial Ch I. Prosecutor v. Akayesu, Jean-Paul. Judgment, Sep. 2, 1998. paras. 505-509 and 516; Trial
Ch I. Prosecutor v. Musema, Alfred. Judgment, En. 27, 2000. paras. 908 and 933 (884-936); ICTY, Trial Ch. Prosecutor
v. Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić. Review of the indictments pursuant to rule 61 of the rules of procedures and
evidence, Jul. 11, 1996. par. 93; ICTY, Trial Ch. Prosecutor v. Radislav Krstić. Judgment, Aug. 2, 2001. par. 509; United
Nations General Assembly, Resolution 50/192, Rape and Abuse of Women in the Areas of Armed Conflict in the Former
Yugoslavia. A/RES/50/192, December 22, 1995, p.3; United Nations Security Council, Women and Peace and Security.
Doc S/PRST/2007/5, March 7, 2007, p.2.; Report of the Secretary General according to Security Council Resolution 1820
of July 15, 2009. para. 22., and ICRC, Rule 93.
318
In this regard, see: Cf. CPI, Situation in the Central African Republic in the case of the Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre
Bemba Gombo, March 21, 2016, Section VI, (B) and (F), paras. 634 to 638 and 693 to 741; CPI Policy Paper on Sexual
and gender-based crimes, June of 2014, pp. 17, 25, 26 and 43. Available at: https://www.icccpi.int/CourtRecords/CR2016_02238.PDF and https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-Policy-Paper-on-Sexual-andGender-Based-Crimes--June-2014.pdf; ICTR, Prosecution of Sexual Violence. Lessons Learned from the Office of the
Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court for Rwanda, January 30, 2014, pp 8 a 24, 28 to 32 and 37. Available at:
http://w.unictr.org/sites/unictr.org/files/legal-library/140130_prosecution_of_sexual_violence.pdf
319
For example, in the cases of Fernández Ortega and Rosendo Cantú, both against Mexico, the Court concluded that
the lack of an interpreter that would enable the victims to participate fully in their own cases constituted discrimination
in access to justice. In the Case of Tiu Tojín v. Guatemala, the Court considered that in order to guarantee access to
justice for the victims - as members of the Mayan indigenous people - without discrimination, the State had to ensure
that they could understand and be understood in the legal proceedings, by providing them with interpreters or other
effective means to that end. Likewise, in the cases of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru, and Veliz Franco et al., and Velásquez
Paiz v. Guatemala, the Court found that the failure to investigate the violence suffered by the victims in those cases was
due to the use, on the part of the justice operators, of discriminatory stereotypes. Cf. Case of Fernández Ortega et al.
v. Mexico, para. 201; Case of Rosendo Cantú et al. v. Mexico, para. 185; Case of Tiu Tojín v. Guatemala. Merits,
reparations and costs. Judgment of November 26, 2008. Series C No. 190, para. 100; Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v.
Peru, paras. 272 and 278; Case of Veliz Franco et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and
costs. Judgment of May 19, 2014. Series C No. 277, paras. 212 and 213, and Case of Velásquez Paiz et al. v. Guatemala,
paras. 177, 183, 186 to 189.
320
Cf. Case of Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment
of June 21, 2002. Series C No. 94, para. 145, and Case of Tenorio Roca et al. v. Peru, para. 237.