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RESOLUTION Nº 21/78Case
2209 ARGENTINA November
18, 1978 BACKGROUND: 1. The following
denunciation was made in a communication dated February 15, 1977: "On
May 14, at 5:00 a.m., a heavily-armed detachment, who said they belonged
to the Argentinean Army, entered the home located on the Avenue Santa Fe
2949, 3rd. Floor A, in the city of Buenos Aires. They were interested
only in the address books, and after a few questions, the intruders
detained Monica Maria Candelaria MIGNONE, I.D. 2466.133, 24 years old, a
spinster, who lived at that address with her family, and took her away.
They said they were taking her back to the First Infantry Regiment
located in Palermo, inside the city limits. "It
is not known whether she is alive or dead, what was the reason for her
detention or what she is accused of, if indeed there were any grounds.
There is no doubt that she was detained by members of the Armed Forces.
The event occurred in public, in a heavily-guarded area, and the
behavior of the people involved was correct. "In
fact, replying to the writ of habeas corpus filed with the
courts, and to other written and oral request to the Ministers of the
Interior, the Office of the President of the Republic, the Military
Commandants, the Federal Police, etc., the authorities deny that she was
detained, although it is public and common knowledge that it did
happen." 2. In a note of
July 14, 1977, the Commission transmitted the pertinent parts of the
denunciation to the Government of Argentina, asking that it provide the
corresponding information. 3. In a note of
September 29, 1977, the Government of Argentina responded to the
Commission's request for information, in the following terms, but
without referring to the events denounced: ... "E.
Persons regarding whom steps are being taken to determine their
whereabouts since the national authorities have no record of complaints
regarding disappearances prior to the denunciations presented by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: ... MIGNONE,
Mónica María Candelaria." 4. In a letter of
October 20, 1977, the pertinent parts of that reply were transmitted to
the claimant, and he was invited to make his observations on it. 5. In a letter of
November 28, 1977, the complainant replied to the Commission,
challenging the Government of Argentina's reply in the following terms: "The
reply from the Government of Argentina that you forwarded is flagrantly
inaccurate. "By
the time that reply was written i.e., September 29, 1977, two
denunciations had been filed; indeed, they were filed much earlier. The
first, on May 15, 1976 was tiled with Federal Police Section Nº
19, and it gave rise to a pseudo-investigation, before the Magistrate's
Court of the First Instance (Juez de Primera Instancia de Instrucción
de Turno.) There was a second in June of the same year, i.e. 1976,
filed under case Nº 188.248. More than ten visits were made in
connection with the latter denunciation, after requests for interviews,
to the above-mentioned Ministry, but the same negative response was
always given. Finally, over that year and a half, eight writs of habeas
corpus were filed with various Federal courts in the Federal
Capital. In each case, the presiding judge requested information on
MONICA MARIA CANDELARIA MIGNONE from the Ministry of the Interior, the
Ministry of Defense, the Commanders-in-Chief of the Army, the Navy and
the Air Force, the Federal Police, the Police of the Province of Buenos
Aires, the National Gendarmerie and the Navy Prefecture. The response
was also negative here. "By
virtue of the foregoing, the statement by the Argentinean Government
that it has no record of complaints regarding of disappearances prior to
the denunciations presented by the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights' is false. "Moreover,
this case is very well known. It has been unofficially acknowledged that
given the place and the way in which it was carried out, it could only
have been an operation by the Armed Forces, with support from the
Police. What we no not know is the fate of MONICA MARIA CANDELARIA
MIGNONE, since neither the Argentine Government nor the Armed Forces
make a report when they kill prisoners, nor do they hand over their
bodies; nor do they specify the place of detention whenever they put
them in jail." 6. The events set
forth in the observations were felt to be substantially the same as
those transmitted to the Government of Argentina in the note of July 14,
1977. WHEREAS: 1. To date, the
Government of Argentina has not supplied sufficient information on the
specific events listed in the communication by the IACHR of July 14,
1977; 2. Article 51.1 of
the Regulations of the Commission provides as follows: "The
occurrence of the events on which information has been requested will be
presumed to be confirmed if the Government referred to has not supplied
such information within one hundred and eighty days of the request,
provided always, that the invalidity of the events denounced is not
shown by other elements of proof." THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES: 1. In application
of Article 51.1 of the Regulations, to presume the events listed in the
denunciation related to the detention and disappearance of MONICA MARIA
CANDELARIA MIGNONE to be true. 2. To observe to
the Government of Argentina that such events constitute very serious
violations of the right to liberty and personal security (Article I) of
the right to a fair trial; (Article XVIII), and of the right to
protection from arbitrary arrest (Article XXV), and of the right to due
process (Article XXVI) of the American Declaration of the Rights and
Duties of Man. 3. To recommend to
the Government of Argentina: a. that it immediately release Miss MONICA
MARIA CANDELARIA MIGNONE, or if appropriate, to bring her to proper
trial, guaranteeing her that the conditions of her imprisonment do not
violate her right to humane treatment as set forth in Article XXV cited
above; b. that it punish those responsible for the events denounced, in
accordance with Argentine law, and c. that it inform the Commission,
within a maximum of 30 days, as to the measures taken to put into
practice the recommendations contained in the present Resolution. 4. To communicate
this Resolution to the Government of Argentina and to the claimant. 5. To include this
Resolution in the Annual Report to the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States, pursuant to Article 9 (bis), paragraph c.iii
of the Statute of the Commission.
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