PRESS RELEASE

Nº 20/00 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Requests
 Precautionary Measures in the “La Tablada” Case  

          The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), at a plenary meeting during its 109th special session, decided to request the Government of the Argentine Republic to adopt precautionary measures to protect the petitioners in Case No. 11,137, who have been imprisoned and are engaged in a hunger strike. They are Isabel Fernández, Claudia Acosta, Gustavo Messutti, José Moreira, Sergio Paz, Claudio Enrique Veiga, Roberto Felicetti, Miguel Angel Aguirre, Claudio Rodríguez, Luis Díaz, and Carlos Motto.  

Over three years ago, the Commission adopted Report 55/97, in which it presented its findings and conclusions on the case and issued the following recommendations:  

IX.      RECOMMENDATIONS  

         438.     Based on the foregoing conclusions, THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, recommends to the Argentine State: 

          i.          That it provide the necessary mechanisms and guarantees to undertake an independent, complete, and impartial investigation into the events beginning January 23, 1989, and analyzed in this report, for the purpose of identifying and punishing all the persons who may be responsible for the human rights violations mentioned in the conclusions set forth in Chapter VII supra.  

          ii.          That, pursuant to its obligations under Articles 2 and 8(2)(h) of the Convention, it take the necessary actions under its constitutional system, to make fully effective, in the future, the judicial guarantee of the right to appeal for persons tried under Law 23.077. 

iii.         That in view of the above noted violations of the American Convention, it take the most appropriate measures to repair the harm suffered by the persons identified in paragraph 436 (A) and 436 (B).  

Since Report 55/97 was sent to the Argentine state, the Commission has taken repeated steps to ensure the implementation of its recommendations.  As part of these efforts, the Chairs of the IACHR have visited Argentina, where they have met with Government authorities serving under both former President Carlos Menem and current President Fernando de la Rúa, who expressed their unequivocal intent to implement the recommendations issued in the Commission’s report.  In addition, the IACHR has held follow-up hearings on the implementation of its recommendations during the 100th, 106th, and 108th sessions, held, respectively, on October 6, 1998, March 2, 2000, and October 12, 2000.  

Nevertheless, now more than three years after the Commission’s report, the recommendations have yet to be applied. 

 
According to reports, since the Commission’s recommendations have not been implemented, the individuals in question have been on a hunger strike for over 90 days.  Although the Commission is not in favor of a hunger strike that compromises the health and threatens the lives of the persons involved, it believes that the way to resolve this grave situation is to implement the recommendations fully and without further delay.  

Under Article 29 of its Regulations, and without prejudice to other measures it may consider necessary, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, at a plenary meeting during its 109th special session, issued the following request to the Argentine Government:   

The immediate adoption of the necessary measures to implement fully the recommendations of Report 55/97.  

The IACHR continues to evaluate the implementation of its Report 55/97 by the Argentine Government and has granted the Government a period of 10 days in which to report on any measures it has taken.    

 

Washington, D.C., December 11, 2000