2
warrant for the arrest of Víctor Román Cotzál.
3.
To call upon the Government of the Republic of Guatemala to report to the
Court, every thirty days from the date of notification, on the urgent measures it adopts,
and upon the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to transmit its comments on
that information to the Court within fifteen days of its receipt.
4.
To submit this Order for the Court's consideration and pertinent effects during
its next session.
5.
To summon the parties to a public hearing at the seat of the Court on June 27,
1996, at 10:00 a.m., so that the Court may hear their views on the events and
circumstances that led to this request for provisional measures and to this Order.
The Order of the President was based on the following considerations:
4.
That Article 1(1) of the American Convention sets forth the obligation of the
States Parties to respect the rights and freedoms recognized in this treaty and to ensure
to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and
freedoms.
5.
That the facts presented in this case effectively constitute "a prima facie case of
urgent and grave danger to the lives and physical integrity" of the 15 persons named.
(underlining in the original)
6.
That the fact that the Inter-American Commission has twice requested
precautionary measures which "have not produce the requisite effect of protection, since
no proper investigation of the threats has been made by the competent authorities nor
has the pending warrant for the arrest of Víctor Román Cotzál been executed, nor have
Armando Tucubal, Héctor Cotzál or Hugo Cotzál been prosecuted although those persons
stand accused of the murders of two members of CIEDEG, [nor] have other appropriate
measures been taken to protect the lives and physical integrity" of the 15 persons
named in the Commission's request, establishes exceptional circumstances which make it
necessary to order urgent measures so as to avoid irreparable damage to them.
7.
That it is the responsibility of the Government to adopt security measures for all
citizens, an undertaking that is all the more crucial in the case of persons involved in
judicial proceedings before the organs of the inter-American system for the protection of
human rights, the purpose of which is to determine whether or not human rights covered
by the American Convention have been violated.
8.
That, likewise, the Government of Guatemala has the obligation to investigate
the events that led to this request for provisional measures in order to identify those
responsible and punish them accordingly, particularly with regard to the alleged explicit
threats of reprisals against some of the persons named, on account of their appearance
before the Commission at the public hearing on February 22 of this year.
4.
The first report from the Government of Guatemala on May 30, 1996, in
which it listed the urgent measures taken in compliance with the Order of the
President of April 24, 1996 and declared that "Guatemala has deployed all efforts to
investigate the events which it has deemed pertinent within the existing legal
framework." Moreover, the aforementioned report indicated that the Government
had held a meeting on March 26, 1996, which was attended by members of the
State institutions and the persons affected, and that "the latter declared that they
did not wish to be assigned personal security since it undermined their independence
and freedom of action; that all they wanted was for Víctor Román Cotzál be captured
and the threats investigated."
5.
The Commission's comments of June 14, 1996 on the first report from the
Government, in which it considered that the latter had not complied with the
President's requirements in his Order of April 24, 1996 and that a situation of