11
assertion [that it] was already in possession of the geographical location of the call, it
did not present any information regarding immediate monitoring efforts for this
information, nor any efforts aimed at verifying the presence of the beneficiary in that
place.” The Commission noted its serious concern that “months continue to pass by
and the State [...] has not advanced serious investigations into [that] call,” and it
considered it “unacceptable” that Mexico had submitted “the same information”
concerning this point in its last two briefs.
17.
Regarding the actions undertaken by the State, the Inter-American Commission
observed that Mexico has only remarked that it was carrying out “several procedures”
and that “soon it [would] submit the corresponding information” in relation to the
investigation into the participation of military officials in the beneficiaries’
disappearance. Also, regarding the steps undertaken by FEVIMTRA about which the
State provided some information (supra Considering 7(a)), the Commission noted that
the State “has not made reference to the specific dates when they were conducted nor
the results obtained from them.” In this regard, the Commission concurred with the
representatives in that the lack of information on these dates impeded “an
understanding of the consequential theme of the investigations as well as [a
verification] as to whether these were updated procedures.” The Commission further
concurred with the representatives in that “some of the actions [taken] [...] d[id not]
appear to be related to the search for the beneficiaries pursuant to indications of
military participation,” and Mexico provided no information as to which investigatory
avenue this was aimed at addressing. Likewise, regarding the PGJE’s actions which
were also featured in the State’s brief (supra Considering 8), the Commission noted
that in the copy of the file from this institution furnished by the State “[there is a
record] of actions only up until March 16, 2010.” Regarding the search for the
beneficiaries in the country’s various official agencies (supra Considering 9), the
Commission observed that in the State’s last brief it was unclear whether the actions
indicated therein were new ones “or whether they concern[ed] previously sent letters.”
The Commission stressed that the aforementioned letters “did not provide any relevant
information concerning the beneficiaries’ whereabouts,” for which reason the State was
obligated to engage complete and coordinated efforts among its various branches and
authorities to immediately ascertain them. Conversely, the Commission positively
assessed the beneficiaries’ entrance into the National Registry of Missing Persons and
indicated that it hoped the State would continue to “keep a close eye on” this initiative
and that it provide information on its results. The Commission observed that the State
had reported that the collaboration of the Military Prosecutor’s Office to perform tasks
in the 35th Infantry Battalion. The Commission regarded such steps as essential but
also noted that the State was to take whatever measures necessary to ensure that
these efforts were conducted by authorities who could offer prima facie guarantees of
impartiality and independence in order to effectively contribute to the search for the
beneficiaries. To do otherwise “c[ould] have negative effects” in obtaining information
on their whereabouts. Finally, the Commission noted from the State’s briefs that “it
turn[ed] out that the provisional measures ha[d] not achieved adequate compliance”
and that the State’s actions to date “[were] not appropriate to the nature of the
situation denounced, nor to the necessity of adopting immediate and effective
measures to clarify the events and determine the beneficiaries’ whereabouts.” The
Commission stressed that in cases such as the present one, “the passage of time
without adopting serious investigative search measures augments the extreme risk in
which the beneficiaries may find themselves.”
18.
The Court deems it appropriate to recall that the present provisional measures
were adopted in light of the fact that Rocío Irene, Nitza Paola, and José Ángel Alvarado,
who are all cousins, have been missing since the night of December 29, 2009 when
they were allegedly deprived of their liberty in an illegal manner by State agents.18 The
18
Cf. Matter of Alvarado Reyes et al., supra note 8, Considering clause eight.