21
46.
The Court also deems, based on the expressions of the State, of the InterAmerican Commission and of the representatives of the victims and their next of kin
during the first public hearing, and in the April 23, 2004 briefs, and given the
acceptance of the facts and the acknowledgment of international responsibility made
by the State, that the controversy with respect to the facts that gave rise to the
instant case has ended.13
47.
Based on the above, the Court deems that the State did in fact incur
international responsibility for violation of the rights set forth in Articles 5(1) and
5(2) (Right to Humane Treatment); 8(1) (Right to Fair Trial); 11 (Right to Privacy);
12(2) and 12(3) (Freedom of Conscience and Religion); 13(2) paragraph a and 13(5)
(Freedom of Thought and Expression), 16(1) (Freedom of Association), 21(1) and
21(2) (Right to Property), 24 (Right to Equal Protection) and 25 (Right to Judicial
Protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights and it did not fulfill its
obligation to respect rights set forth in Article 1(1) (Obligation to Respect Rights) of
that same Convention;
48.
The victims of the violations mentioned in the previous paragraph are the
persons listed by the Commission in its application (supra para. 42.48), and those
that may subsequently be identified, since the complexities and difficulties faced in
identifying them lead to the presumption that there may be victims yet to be
identified.
49.
The Court, pursuant to its April 23, 2004 Order (supra para. 44), will issue a
judgment at the appropriate time regarding the scope and amount of reparations
and legal costs.
50.
The Court deems that the acknowledgment of international responsibility
made by the State constitutes a positive contribution to the development of this
proceeding and to the effectiveness of the principles behind the American Convention
on Human Rights.
51.
With respect to the issue of genocide mentioned both by the Commission and
by the representatives of the victims and their next of kin, the Court notes that in
adjudicatory matters it is only competent to find violations of the American
Convention on Human Rights and of other instruments of the inter-American system
for the protection of human rights that enable it to do so. Nevertheless, facts such as
those stated, which gravely affected the members of the Maya achí people in their
identity and values and that took place within a pattern of massacres, constitute an
aggravated impact that entails international responsibility of the State, which this
Court will take into account when it decides on reparations.
13
See Case of Bulacio. September 18, 2003 Judgment. Series C No. 100, paras. 27 and 38; Case
of Barrios Altos. March 14, 2001 Judgment. Series C No. 75, para. 38; Case of Trujillo Oroza. January 26,
2000 Judgment. Series C No. 64, para. 40; Case of El Caracazo. November 11, 1999 Judgment. Series C
No. 58, para. 41; Case of Benavides Cevallos. June 19, 1998 Judgment. Series C No. 38, para. 42; Case
of Garrido and Baigorria. February 2, 1996 Judgment 2. Series C No. 26, para. 27; Case of El Amparo.
January 18, 1995 Judgment. Series C No. 19, para. 20; and Case of Aloeboetoe et al.. December 4, 1991
Judgment. Series C No. 11, para. 23.
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