5
the Interior and Justice did not include an express acknowledgement by the State
of the facts that gave rise to the violations declared” by the Court and did not
“acknowledge the obligation to see that justice is done,” “nor did it express any
commitment to that end.” According to the representatives, this failure to
apologize expressly “was condemned by those present.” The representatives also
indicated that the act “gave rise to public declarations of condemnation by several
next of kin of individuals disappeared during the military dictatorship, the media
and journalists, human rights defenders, and the Ombudsman, as well as a
widespread debate in society on the need for the State to apologize to the victims
of human rights violations that took place during the military dictatorship.”
20.
For its part, the Commission assessed positively “that the State had
organized and carried out an act acknowledging responsibility”; nevertheless, it
observed “that some aspects of the way in which this act was carried out were
not appropriate for achieving the essential purpose for which it was conceived;
namely, moral reparation.” The Commission considered that the invitation to the
family was not issued with “sufficient notice”; that the “public apology, as part of
the State’s acknowledgement of international responsibility” was important,
bearing in mind that “it is essential that, when organizing acts of this nature,
special consideration be given to the individual expectations of the victims and
their next of kin if appropriate, including their wish to intervene,” and it awaited
“details of the measures adopted by the Panamanian State to make up for the
omissions in the public act to acknowledge responsibility.”
21.
The President finds that the Court requires more information from the
parties on the acts of public apology that took place in relation to the provisions
of the judgment.
*
*
*
22.
With regard to the obligation to provide the medical and psychological
treatment required by Graciela De León Rodríguez, Patria Portugal and Franklin
Portugal (thirteenth operative paragraph of the judgment), the State advised that
“it had given instructions for the Santo Tomás Hospital to continue providing
Heliodoro Portugal’s next of kin, with the required medical and psychological
treatment, free of charge and immediately.”
23.
In this regard, the representatives indicated that this obligation “should
have been complied with immediately on notification of the judgment,” but that
“the State only made [the said services] available to the Portugal family five
months later.” They also indicated that “Graciela De León resides permanently in
the city of Penonomé” and, therefore, cannot attend the Santo Tomás Hospital,
located in Panama City; consequently, “her medical and psychological care should
be provided by a specialized institution near her place of residence.” However, “to
date, the State has not taken any measure in this regard.” Furthermore,
regarding the psychological treatment, the representatives underscored that the
State had indicated that “it has no outpatients system or trained personnel
specialized in victims of grave human rights violations in order to offer the
services as the Court recommended”; however, the Ministry of Health had asked
for support from the Pan-American Health Organization’s regional mental health
program. In addition, regarding the medical assistance, they indicated that ”an
initial diagnosis had never been made” to determine the type of disorders from
which the victims suffer and, consequently, the “type of treatment they should
receive.” The representatives advised that Patria Portugal “had requested health
care services [...] when she required them,” although “incidents have arisen that
have prevented her from receiving the medical care ordered.” The