3 Marcela Matamoros, assistant Father Daniel Joseph Vogt, assistant At that hearing attention was drawn to the fact that the Government had taken measures to protect Father Daniel Joseph Vogt's life and the integrity of his person. At the same time, the Commission maintained that those measures had not been adequate, particularly as regards the duty to investigate the threats denounced. The Commission stressed that the previous precautionary measures it had called for on September 30, 1994, June 16, 1995 and March 6, 1996 had been fruitless, for which reason it had submitted the request for provisional measures to the Court. CONSIDERING: 1. That Guatemala is a State Party to the American Convention, Article 1(1) of which sets forth the obligation of the States Parties to respect the rights and freedoms recognized in that treaty and ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, and that on March 9, 1987 Guatemala accepted the jurisdiction of this Court pursuant to Article 62 of the Convention. 2. That Article 63(2) of the Convention declares that: [i]n cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court shall adopt such provisional measures as it deems pertinent in matters it has under consideration. With respect to a case not yet submitted to the Court, it may act at the request of the Commission. 3. That the Court has examined the circumstances and events that formed the basis of the President's April 12, 1996 Order, which this Court confirms, finding it to be consistent with the law and the merits of the proceedings. 4. That the Court, having studied the arguments of the Government and the Commission, observes that Guatemala has taken some measures to protect Father Daniel Joseph Vogt. The above notwithstanding, the Court considers that the measures to investigate the events have been neither adequate nor efficacious. 5. That, accordingly, it is necessary to request that the Government of Guatemala, as a vital aspect of its protective duty, take effective measures to investigate the events denounced and, where appropriate, punish the perpetrators. 6. That the Court stresses that the State has the obligation to investigate any situation in which the human rights protected by the Convention may have been violated. The obligation to investigate, as well as prevent and punish, must be assumed by the State as a legal duty and not merely as a formality. 7. That, in particular, the Commission has the obligation in every case to take measures to guarantee the life and physical integrity of all persons whose rights may be violated. NOW, THEREFORE: