CASE 27-2017: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)

 

By Master Yan Maitri-Shi, Prosecutor

 

HONORABLE JURY OF INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ETHICS COMMITTEE (IBEC) & BUDDHIST TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS (BTHR)

After Legitimating and Validating Evidences and Charges by Master Maitreya, President and Spiritual Judge of IBEC-BTHR, it is addressed the case against the accused party, “Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)”. This investigation was initiated from the Case Argentina.

The Charges by which the International Buddhist Ethics Committee is accusing “Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)” are enumerated below:

• Violation on the Rights of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities

Therefore, it is detailed a series of EVIDENCES that support the Charges referred so that the Jury members decide about the possible “Responsibility”, “Innocence” or “Insanity” of the accused. Such evidence come from graphic and audiovisual media that have been gathered, sorted and confirmed in their order and context as Means of Proof in order to know, establish, dictate and determine the Responsibility of the Accused for committing the aforementioned Charges.

The procedure established in the Statute of INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ETHICS  COMMITTEE & BUDDHIST TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS provides both bodies the ostentation to enjoy independence and liberty from state and national regulation and control, besides having the legality and acting as a Buddhist People in order to assert its customs, traditions, practices, procedures, judgments and rights as well as acting in pursuit of the development of Spirituality, of Buddhist Ethics, and of the defense of International Human Rights. This procedure has the particularity, singularity and distinction of having “Special Jurisdiction of the Tribal Law” and “Universal Jurisdiction of the International Law”, thus having the Character, Juridical validity, Legal Powers, infrastructure, Training and Capability necessary to be Actor, Administrator and Executor of Justice in this realm and exercise, by judging of the Accused by means of an Ethical Judgment whose Purpose is Truth, Reconciliation and Learning.-

 

DETAILS OF THE CASE

INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ETHICS COMMITTEE: In 2013 the World Association of Buddhism was threatened with death. As Argentina’s justice system did nothing about it, the aggressor assaulted the Buddhist Temple directors with a shotgun. He then violently attacked the President in order to kill him, despite the fact that no verbal or physical response had been made against the aggressor. Faced with this serious episode that constitutes an attempted murder, the Argentine police and prosecutors did absolutely nothing, claiming that it was a “neighborhood conflict”, so they never detained the aggressor, nor did they make a search warrant in order to seize weapons. The Prosecutors office considered the case as something of “minor” importance that should not be addressed by criminal justice. In the local Bar Association the directors of the World Association of Buddhism (WBA) were told that this case was unsolvable because it was a “neighborhood conflict”, and that Justice would not act, so they recommended moving or making a false report on sexual harassment on the part of the aggressor against the WBA’s female director. Faced with all these deep irregularities on the part of the Justice, the World Association of Buddhism resorted to the Argentine Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo de la Nación Argentina), who defended the actions of the Prosecutor’s Office. As episodes of violence went unpunished, in 2014, this time the aggressor’s family members carried out violent attacks against the World Association of Buddhism. Not only did the Prosecutors Office not act in the face of these facts but it also disrespected the directors of the Buddhist Temple, stating that the case was not important. It also denied the right to Legal Representation, which violates one of the pillars of the Argentine constitution and its legal procedure. For this reason, in 2015 the International Buddhist Ethics Committee made a criminal complaint against the Prosecutor for the offense of “failure to comply with the duties of a public official,” which was not even answered by the Argentine justice or by the government, being a clear act of impunity and discrimination. The death threats, the assault with a firearm, the brutal physical beating, the lynching attempt, the insults, among others, all of this has caused emotional damage to the Buddhist Temple, reason why it resorted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in order to act and solve this framework of impunity, since it has a duty to monitor human rights violations in Argentina. However, the IACHR never acted or considered the case with the seriousness it deserved, again producing a revictimization for being accomplices of the Argentine State.

In 2016, the World Association of Buddhism made its second complaint against Argentina before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Unlike the first complaint for violation of the human right to justice, the second complaint alleged religious discrimination. On this occasion, given the conditions of poverty and marginalization in which the Buddhist Temple resides, the Argentine State has been required to grant the same rights and benefits as the Catholic Church in Argentina, where around 20 thousand priests and nuns receive enormous amounts of money from the State, in addition that said Church receives millions in subsidies, state donations, buildings and properties, and even judicial protection. All this framework of enormous benefits received by the Catholic Church constitutes a religious discrimination against other spiritual communities in the country, which are completely ignored and receive no political, economic, cultural or environmental benefits. For such reason, through communal Buddhist opinions, letters and resolutions, this situation has been claimed before the Governor of Buenos Aires, the Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religion and also to the President of Argentina, all of whom have systematically ignored such claims of Equality, thus violating the National Constitution of the country and the International Covenants on Human Rights. First of all, the Articles 16 and 75 of the Argentine National Constitution establish the right to equality, especially by granting constitutional hierarchy to international human rights instruments enshrining the principle of equality and non-discrimination; Article 2 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; the Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 24 of the American Convention on Human Rights; Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Articles 2 and 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Secondly, Argentine law No. 23,592 criminalizing discriminatory acts states: “Anyone who arbitrarily prevents, obstructs, restricts or in any way undermines the full exercise on an equal basis of the fundamental rights and guarantees recognized in the National Constitution shall be obliged, at the request of the victim, to render ineffective the discriminatory act or cease in its realization and to repair the moral and material damage caused. For the purposes of this article, discriminatory acts or omissions determined for reasons such as race, religion, nationality, ideology, political or trade union opinion, sex, economic status, social status or physical characteristics shall be considered particularly”. Thirdly, Article 12 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of 1989, which prescribes: “The peoples concerned shall be safeguarded against the abuse of their rights and shall be able to take legal proceedings, either individually or through their representative bodies, for the effective protection of these rights.” With regard to the economic and social discrimination that the Temple receives, it has resorted to institutions such as INADI that fight against discrimination, which unjustifiably delay their actions. In addition, there are two internal laws such as 21,745 and 21,950, which are deeply discriminatory in favor of Catholicism, since they were promoted during the time of the Argentine military Dictatorship, at which time the Catholic Church collaborated and supported the regime. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religion, as well as the President of Argentina, have been required to cancel the discriminatory benefits received by the Catholic Church or, failing that, to extend these benefits to the rest of the country’s spiritual communities, alleging that the current order is discriminatory and illegal. There was silence and indifference on the part of the State. It has been asked to immediately stop this discriminatory system, in which the Catholic Church receives millions of funds, while other spiritual communities are exposed to poverty, marginalization and exclusion. Given the state of poverty and marginalization in which the Buddhist Temple World Association of Buddhism is, it was requested that the IACHR present an urgent precautionary measure to protect the organization’s access to Equality, eliminating the discriminatory situation that is undeniable and unconstitutional. However, in 2017 this request was rejected by the IACHR.

 

EVIDENCES

Evidence 1: Impunity

INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ETHICS COMMITTEE & BUDDHIST TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS: “(2016). Dear Sirs of the IACHR, In reference to your application “MC-284-15” signed by Ms. Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, I hereby communicate with you as the highest authority of the International Buddhist Ethics Committee & Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights in order to respond appropriately to your official message, which has taken 1 year to come. In this regard, we present below a series of points that we request to be answered as soon as possible: 1. We express our disagreement with the work of the IACHR in our case, since it has contributed to the impunity we have received from the Argentine Judicial Power. We wonder how is it possible for the highest American authority on Human Rights to take 1 year to simply answer a petition. 2. We also wonder how the IACHR would have responded if the petition had been made on behalf of a bishop or Cardinal of the powerful Catholic Church. 3. We clarify that in the last few months we have sent numerous letters to all major organs of Argentina (presidency, governorate, human rights secretariat, etc.) and all of them have ignored our complaints about the impunity we have received from judicial institutions in the face of a series of attacks against our lives. In fact, government officials from Buenos Aires have telephoned us to intimidate us and they’ve scoffed at our requests to fight against impunity. This situation of contempt is a product of our economic condition of humility, which makes us to live a style of existence detached from fame, wealth and power. 4. We note that in the recent formal letters to those Argentine officials we have denounced acts of religious discrimination committed by the Argentine State, which not only provides salaries and subsidies to Catholic Church officials, but also offers a system of dominium regularization (land-ownership regularization) of their properties, not offering such benefits to other religions’ temples. Faced with this important denunciation, we have only received indifference from the authorities. 5. Please note that, attached, I am sending you the formal complaints we have filed a year ago against the prosecutors in our case. These denunciations have been completely ignored by the judicial system, violating our most basic and essential procedural guarantees in accessing justice, which is a scandalous lack of protection that guarantees impunity for perpetrators who have committed the attacks against our physical integrity, thus damaging the spiritual lifestyle we develop as a Buddhist commune. 6. We urgently request that the IACHR begin to function properly and promptly, as we have perceived a malfunction of this prestigious institution, which has not shown implementation and defense of simple and rapid judicial resources to fight against injustice in America. It is essential that the IACHR functions as it did in its best times, as when it defended the rights of the Saramaka people making history in the field of International Law. In this way, we demand the recognition and protection of the Human Right to Peace and Human Right to Justice owned by our Buddhic people. 7. We take the opportunity to state that we have noticed that one of the members of the IACHR is a famous Argentine jurist who has been found responsible for the management of brothels in Buenos Aires, and that in one of his rulings in Argentina he justified the acts of a rapist when saying that it had happened with the “lights off”. In addition, we are aware that this jurist is currently defending legally the former President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez, who is responsible for systematically violating the Argentine Law and also for having committed Crimes against Humanity, as demonstrated by the investigation performed by our Tribal Court in November 2015. For this reason, we request that an internal ethical review or judgment will be carried out by the IACHR to purify all members who have committed or defend violations against Human Rights. 8. We are willing to give our lives in defense of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms, and this commitment has brought us to suffer indifference and acts of censorship against our ethical and spiritual activities. We wonder if members of the IACHR are willing to make the same sacrifice in defense of Freedom, Equality and Fraternity.”

INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ETHICS COMMITTEE & BUDDHIST TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS: “(2016). Dear Mr. Garelli of IACHR, While we appreciate your response after 3 months of the presentation, we confirm that all this information has already been duly sent to the IACHR when in 2015, in a case presented by the BUDDHIST TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS, the Argentine State was denounced precisely because of the indifference facing the violent attacks we have received. The IACHR showed the same indifference. Even after criminally denouncing the Prosecutors Office, Argentine State did not even respond to the criminal complaint. This was notified to the IACHR yet there was no response from it. The information you are requesting has already been delivered on numerous occasions, but also seem to be ignoring the purpose of our new presentation, which is for Religious Discrimination when providing millions in funds to Catholicism and denying all kinds of benefits to the rest of the communities. If now, after three years of the events, the IACHR decides to act so that there is no impunity for the attacks, we request two things: 1- that the IACHR read all the documentation submitted to it by the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights in 2015; 2- that the IACHR does not ignore the religious discrimination at economic, political and cultural level that is carried out in favor of Catholicism with sums of millions in resources. We clarify that all instances of the Argentine State (executive, legislative and judicial, ombudsmen, etc.) have ignored our claims, opinions and other actions. We have been waiting for the IACHR to have a different kind of behavior.”

INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ETHICS COMMITTEE & BUDDHIST TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS: “(2017). Dear Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and President Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli, In reference to your letter dated May 17, 2017, signed by the Assistant Executive Secretary, Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, where the IACHR refuses to grant a precautionary measure in favor of the World Association of Buddhism, we communicate with you in order to request a formal response within 5 days on the following issues, as our community is evaluating measures to be taken against the IACHR’s position. If not answered, this will be considered as an official response of indifference. The INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ETHICS COMMITTEE & BUDDHIST TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS is interested in knowing which measures will be taken by the IACHR in reference to the petitions presented by our Buddhist Community: MC 284-15 and MC 487-16. This is because during the term of two years the IACHR has done nothing and has maintained a status quo of impunity over the violations of individual and collective human rights suffered by our international community in Argentina. We recall that case MC 284-15 was presented about serious violent attacks that remained unpunished thanks to the Argentine justice system, despite the fact that there were episodes of death threats, assault and attempted homicide; while case MC 487-16 was presented on the religious discrimination enjoyed by the Catholic Church, which enjoys billions of economic contributions by the Argentine State, such as immovable property, salaries as high as those of a judge, and free travel tickets, among others, while most of the rest of religious and spiritual communities in Argentina suffer from insufficient resources. We recall that in the case MC 284-15 there is a clear and obvious violation of the human right to peace, life, physical integrity, and access to justice; while in case MC 487-16 there is a clear and evident violation of the human right to equality and religious non-discrimination.  In addition, the Buddhist Communities are Tribal Peoples, so that they are not only covered by individual international human rights treaties but also by collective human rights treaties such as Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. This fact has been clearly demonstrated in the Universal Declaration on the Rights of the Buddhist Peoples, that is hereby attached, and that was created within the framework of UNITED BUDDHIST NATIONS ORGANIZATION, which is the second most important Buddhist institution in the world.  Ergo, it is requested that within a term of no more than 5 days, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights submits a plan for the protection of the fundamental rights of our Buddhist Community in Argentina, which is the headquarters to the international temple World Association of Buddhism. In case there is no response at all, it will be regarded as indifference and impunity in the face of the human rights violations that were denounced years ago, which would put the IACHR in violation and serious misconduct before our ancient legal practices inherent in Buddhist Tribal Law.”

 

Evidence 2: Violation of the Universal Declaration on the Rights of the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF BUDDHIST PEOPLES AND SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES: “Encouraging States to respect and fully comply with their internationally legal obligations toward the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, establishing relations based on liberty, equality and fraternity; (…) Contemplating that the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities not only possess all individual human rights without discrimination but they also possess collective human rights that are indispensable for their existence, welfare and tribal or communal development; (…)Article 4: States have the duty to take legal responsibility for developing systematic and coordinated actions in order to protect individual rights and collective rights of the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, ensuring respect for their physical, mental and spiritual integrity. These governmental actions must include: measures to ensure that members of the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities are able to enjoy equal rights and opportunities as the rest of the population; measures to promote full compliance with the political, economic, cultural and environmental rights, respecting their social identity, their spiritual traditions and their institutions; measures to help members of the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities to eliminate socio-economic differences that exist with the other members of the national population in a way that is consistent with their spiritual aspirations and lifestyles. Article 5: Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities have the right to fully enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination, coercion or obstacle, by applying the provisions of this Universal Declaration into men members and women members without discrimination. Article 6: States have the duty to take necessary special measures to safeguard individuals and institutions of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, having to take care of their security, their jobs and communal assets as well as their cultures and environment. These special measures should not be contrary to public expressions of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, nor should they undermine the civil rights of the beneficiaries. (…)Article 9: Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities have the right to maintain and develop their own political, economic, cultural and legal institutions, while maintaining the right to fully participate -if they wish- in the political, economic, cultural and environmental life of the rest of society. Article 10: States have the duty to take social customs, legislative institutions and customary Law of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities into account, provided these are not incompatible with the fundamental freedoms and human rights nationally and internationally recognized, having to highlight the traditional methods of conflict resolution both in cases of crimes committed by their members as well as in cases where the members are the victims. To do this, the judicial authorities and state courts should take duly into account the customary Law and social customs of the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities. Article 11: The Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities have the right to fast, fair and equitable procedures for the peaceful resolution of conflicts with States and disputes with private institutions and other citizens, as well as full reparation of the injuries they have suffered on their individual and collective rights. In these procedures it should be duly taken into account the international human rights laws, traditional customs, ethical standards and Tribal legal systems of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities.  (…) Article 14: States have the duty to ensure that governmental authorities in charge of the collective rights of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities properly recognize, observe, abide, respect and comply their constitutional functions and also the agreements and laws of international treaties, especially on tribal communities and ethnic minorities, having to consult to the spiritual commune about legislative measures, planning, coordination, implementation and evaluation of social programs that affect them directly, such as health and housing. Article 15: Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities have the collective right to live in liberty and peace, maintaining their spiritual difference with regard to the general population without being subjected to any act of violence. (…)Article 18: Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities have the right to establish and determine their own development projects of their social institutions, such as political, economic, juridical and educational systems and for such purposes they should receive the financial and technical resources through States or international organizations, without discrimination regarding their own priorities and strategies with regards to the processes of social development, to the extent that it affects their survival, lifestyles, beliefs, lands and spiritual well-being. Article 19: International bodies and intergovernmental organizations have a duty to contribute with technical and financial means to the full realization of the rights of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, establishing procedures to ensure the participation of communes in matters that involve them. Article 20: Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities have the right to free determination and control of their own political, economic, cultural and environmental development in order to enforce their human rights. Whenever they have been deprived of their means of survival and development activities, they are entitled to demand a just and fair redress. Article 21: Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, from their right to self-determination, have collective rights to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal affairs, also having the right to dispose of means for financing their autonomous functions and activities. Article 22: States have a duty to consider the improvement of living conditions, such as health, education, work, housing and security as a priority of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, carrying out effective measures and special projects of ongoing social development in the regions where they live without negatively influence in their politics, economy, culture and environment, and mindfully taking care of the conditions of women, children, elderly and disabled people of the communes. Article 23: States have the duty to take special measures to ensure work or to protect the economic conditions of the Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, in so far as members are not effectively protected by labor legislation. Article 24: States have the duty to undertake measures to prevent any kind of discrimination against Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, especially in matters of social justice and freedom of association. Article 25: States have the duty to refrain from attempt to charge taxes on Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, respecting not only their economic autonomy but also the reality that they have limited income and it is mainly used for humanitarian purposes. (…) Article 45: States have the duty to adopt administrative and legislative measures that are respectful of legal systems and spiritual traditions of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, in order to apprise them their constitutional rights and duties, especially their tribal collective rights as regards to political autonomy, economic possibilities, cultural issues of education and justice, and rights to peace and a healthy environment. (…) Article 57: The rights to peace and healthy environment recognized in this Universal Declaration constitute the minimum laws for survival, dignity, welfare and liberty of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities around the world.”

 

Evidence 3: VIOLATION ON THE HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE

SANTIAGO DECLARATION ON THE HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE: “Considering that the uniform, non-selective and adequate application of international law is essential to the attainment of peace; and recalling that Article 1 of the UN Charter identifies as the fundamental purpose of the Organization the maintenance of international peace and security, which should be achieved inter alia through the economic and social development of peoples and the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms without any kind of discrimination;  (3) Recognising the positive dimension of peace which goes beyond the strict absence of armed conflict and is linked to the elimination of all types of violence, whether direct, political, structural, economical or cultural in both public and private sectors, which in turn requires the economic, social and cultural development of peoples as a condition for satisfying the needs of the human being, and the effective respect of all human rights and the inherent dignity of all members of the human family; (4) Considering that peace is inseparable from the diversity of life and cultures where identity is the base of life; and thus affirming that the foremost among rights is the Right to life, from which other rights and freedoms flow, especially the right of all persons to live in peace;  (…) (7) Conscious of the vulnerability and dependence of every human being, and of the fact that certain circumstances render given groups and persons especially vulnerable; and aware of the need and the right of all persons to live in peace and to have established a national and international social order in which peace has absolute priority, so that the rights and freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be fully realised; (…)(21) Considering that the promotion of a culture of peace, the world-wide redistribution of resources and the achievement of social justice must contribute to the establishment of more just global economic relations which will facilitate the fulfilment of the purposes of this Declaration, by eliminating the inequalities, exclusion and poverty, because they generate structural violence which is incompatible with peace at both national and international levels; (22) Affirming that peace must be based on justice, and that therefore all victims have a right to recognition of their status as victims without discrimination, to justice, to Truth and to an effective reparation, as provided for in General Assembly resolution 60/147 of 16 December 2005, which proclaims the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, thereby contributing to reconciliation and the establishment of lasting peace; (…)(28) Affirming that the human right to peace cannot be achieved without the realization of the equality of rights and respect for gender based differences; without respect for different cultural values and religious beliefs that are compatible with the universally recognized human rights; and without the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of related intolerance; (29) Convinced that it is urgent and necessary that all States recognize peace as a human right and that they ensure its enjoyment by all persons under their jurisdiction, Without any distinction, independently of race, descent, national, ethnic or social origin, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, language, religion or belief, political or other opinion, economic situation, heritage, diverse physical or mental functionality, civil status, birth or any other condition; (…) Article 3 Right to human security and to live in a safe and healthy Environment 1.- Individuals have the right to human security, including freedom from fear and from want, both being elements of positive peace. 2.- All peoples and individuals have the right to live in a private and public Environment that is safe and healthy, and to be protected against any act or threat of physical or psychological violence, whether originating from State or non-State actors. (…) 4.- Freedom from want implies the enjoyment of the right to sustainable Development and of economic, social and cultural rights, in particular: a.-) The right to food, drinking water, sanitation, health, clothing, housing, education and culture; b.-) The right to work and to enjoy fair conditions of employment and trade union association; the right to equal remuneration among persons who perform the same occupation or function; the right to access to social services on equal terms; and the right to leisure. (…) Article 11 Rights of all victims 1.- All victims of human rights violations have the right, without discrimination, to recognition of their status as such and to an effective remedy to protect them against violations of human rights, particularly of the human right to peace. 2.- All individuals have an inalienable right, not subject to statutory limitations, to obtain justice in respect of gross violations of human rights, including the investigation and determination of the facts, as well as the identification and punishment of those responsible. 3.- The victims of human rights violations, the members of their families and society in general have the right to know the truth, not subject to statutory limitations. 4.- Every victim of a human rights violation has the right, in accordance with international human rights law, to the restoration of the violated rights; to obtain effective and complete redress, including the right to rehabilitation and compensation; measures of symbolic redress or reparation as well as guarantees that the violation will not be repeated. Such redress shall not preclude recourse to popular courts or tribunals of conscience and to institutions, methods, traditions or local customs of peaceful settlement of disputes, which may be acceptable to the victim as adequate reparation.”

 

 

Evidence 4: Violation of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights

INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS: “Article 8.1 – Every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or any other nature (…) Article 25. Right to Judicial Protection 1.    Everyone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the state concerned or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of their official duties. 2.    The States Parties undertake: a.    to ensure that any person claiming such remedy shall have his rights determined by the competent authority provided for by the legal system of the state; b.    to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy; and c.    to ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted.”