4 17. As to the State’s argument about filing for a writ of habeas corpus in the case of the disappearances, the petitioners claimed that the family members reported the incidents to the Public Ministry, the bodies of the judiciary and even the municipal offices of the people’s ombudsman. In this regard, they argued that to file separately for a writ of habeas corpus places an excessive burden upon them, particularly in light of the risk they were facing at the time. The petitioners contended that because the State was aware of the complaints, it should have taken the necessary measures to investigate the incidents and ascertain ex officio the whereabouts of the missing individuals. They argued that the State, in any case, should have informed the family members that they must pursue the habeas corpus remedy, being that these families were unfamiliar with the law. Lastly, they alleged that the habeas corpus remedy was not effective for cases of disappearances of individuals at the time. 18. With regard to the merits of the matter, the petitioners alleged that the forced disappearances constitute violations of Articles 4, 5 and 7 of the American Convention. On this score, they contended that the State not only tolerated the Self-Defense Forces of Magdalena Medio freely operating to perpetrate the disappearances and the murder, but that several members of the Armed Forces played an active role in the crimes. 19. Regarding the right to life, the petitioners claimed that the missing persons were murdered and their bodies dumped in different rivers of the area. In this regard, they contended that the State also violated its obligation to ensure the right to life for failing to prevent the forced disappearance and death of the victims. They further argued that two of the missing victims were valuable witnesses to prior crimes, which are also part of the instant case. As to the right to personal liberty, the petitioners asserted that illegal and arbitrary detentions were made, inasmuch as no arrest warrants had been issued nor had any situation in flagrante delicto arisen. On the contrary, they contended that “their whereabouts” remain “anonymous.” They specifically claimed that in the case of María Irene Gallego Quintero, she was illegally and arbitrarily detained by FTA troops. They noted that even though she was remanded to the custody of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Municipality of El Santuario, she is still missing and was last seen with army troops on July 15, 1996. In the case of the individual known by the alias Fredy, the petitioners claimed that there is a video recording in which he appears in a paramilitary camp in Magdalena Medio, forced to join that group as way of saving his own life. With regard to the right to humane treatment, the petitioners alleged that the missing persons were subjected to disgraceful and inhuman treatment as a consequence of the terror they experienced when they were deprived of liberty and taken to an unknown location. 20. Additionally, the petitioners argued that the State violated the obligation to provide special protection to children, as set forth in Article 19 of the American Convention, for the forced disappearances of Óscar Zuluaga and Juan and Miguel Cardona. They also contended that the child Andrés Suárez Cordero was stolen from his parents and forced to live out his childhood with the members of the paramilitary group the Self-Defense Forces of Magdalena Medio. In this regard, they asserted that no mechanism for the psychosocial recovery and treatment of Andrés Suárez Cordero, who lives with a daughter of a paramilitary leader, has been provided for. 21. Petitioners also alleged that the State violated the right to humane treatment of the next-of-kin of the victims of the disappearances, inasmuch as “the terror and fear that this type of criminal practices entails for their family members becomes interminable while they do not know the whereabouts.” They further contended that such a situation precludes the family from holding a burial in keeping with their traditions, values or beliefs. They argued that the disappearances affected a