3. Right to personal integrity in relation to the rights of the child (Articles 5.1, 19 and 1.1 American Convention) 138. Article 5.1 of the American Convention establishes that every person is entitled to having his or her physical, mental, and moral integrity respected. Under the principle of iura novit curia, the IACHR deems it necessary to examine in the instant case, the infringement of the right to personal integrity provided for in Article 5.1, as a result of the unwarranted delay caused by the State in the context of the law suit, as noted by the Commission. It is further noted that given the link to the aforementioned violation established by the Commission regarding unwarranted delay in the proceedings, the IACHR finds that the facts are closely linked to the litis examined during the admissibility stage and, therefore, the State has had an opportunity to submit its arguments pertaining to this right. Based on the above reasoning, the IACHR hereunder explains its considerations on the merits regarding the rights established in Articles 5.1 and 19, in connection with Article 1.1 of the Convention. 139. In accordance with the obligation set forth in Article 1.1 of the American Convention, the State has the duty to respect the right to personal integrity and the duty to adopt the measures as may be necessary to ensure the free and full exercise of said right. This obligation goes even further when the person entitled to said right is a child, in keeping with Inter-American and international human rights standards. Regarding the rights of the child, Article 19 of the American Convention provides that “every minor child has the right to the measures of protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family, society, and the state.” 140. In interpreting Article 19 of the American Convention, the bodies of the InterAmerican System have turned to other sources of obligations in matters of the protection of children’s human rights at the international level, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.193 The Inter-American Court has thus established that: Both the American Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child form part of a very comprehensive international corpus juris for the protection of the child that should help this Court establish the content and scope of the general provision established in Article 19 of the American Convention.194 141. Article 19 of the American Convention must be understood as a right that said treaty establishes for persons who, because of their physical and emotional development, require special protection measures.195 Hence, the State accepts a special obligation of protection and guarantee with regard to children due to their special situation; one that goes beyond the general obligation set forth in Article 1.1 of the American Convention. 142. The IACHR has held that: Respect for the rights of children is a fundamental value of a society that claims to practice 193 The Convention on the Rights of the Child approved by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989. This treaty is in force in Argentina: see Law 23.849 “Apruébase la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño” approved on September 27, 1990 and enacted on October 6, 1990. 194 I/A Court H.R., Juridical Status and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, paras. 37, 53 and I/A Court H.R., Case of “The Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al) v. Guatemala. Judgment of November 19, 1999. Series C No. 63, para. 194. 195 IACHR, Report No. 43/08, Case No. 12.009, Merits, Leydi Dayán Sánchez, Colombia, July 23, 2008, para. 46, citing the I/A Court H.R., Juridical Status and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of August 28, 2002, para. 54. Also see I/A Court H.R., Case of “Juvenile Re-education Institute” v. Paraguay. Judgment of September 2, 2004. Series C No. 112, para. 147.